Reason for the site

[HKHaugan]

The Body of Christ is all over the world. Its length and breadth are international. The one thing that is being underestimated is the spiritual depth of the Body of Christ. That depth is what we need to reconsider. For centuries institutional churches have dominated how we think, talk about and experience that depth. That depth can best be described in one word, intimacy. When we look at Jesus Christ and His relationship with His Father, we see intimacy in a way and on a level no human can duplicate. Jesus came to restore that intimacy in each of us. It is a spiritual intimacy Jesus died to bring back to us. It is a personal relationship with Jesus bonded by the Holy Spirit and offered to each of us. John puts it simply, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Everlasting life is intimacy with God.
Institutional leadership has been corrupted by man's attempt to redefine and control that relationship. They have put themselves between man and God. But spiritually guided interpersonal intimacy far surpasses man's attempt to box it up in controllable forms. This site is open to letting the Spirit through the Word restore us to that deeper sense of intimacy with God and one another which God intended when He sent His Son to show what that means and how it works. Perhaps we can begin to do a little bit here to overcome and bring back the deeper qualities of life God intended if we take advantage of cyber space to overcome physical distance and let the Spirit guide our communication. I call the site Anglicans at Large and the cyber-fellowship Kingdom's Keys. The keys are each one of us opening the gates of the heart to God and one another through His Word.
Questions to get started:
1.What keeps the heart from being open and why?
2.Is there a way that institutional forms can be a help and not a hindrance?
3.When people say 'church' what do they usually mean?
4.How does man usually think of intimacy?
5.How would you describe God's idea of intimacy?

[anne marie morrison]

I think God's idea of intimacy is a two way open communication with His created beings. If we only had an inkling of His desire for us-for us to get to know Him-yes, while we are here on earth. Look at David; do you not think that God desires that from each of us? David desired God, loved God, and most imporatntly, opened his heart up to the Lord. He was not afraid, David left himself totally open to God. And what did God do? He honored that. He loved David back, He made himself known to David. God severely disciplined David, but David continued to pant after Him. David saw his kingdom fall apart and his family ruined, but he continued to trust in the Lord. What David had with the Lord must have been so intimate, so fulfilling, so enlightening, that everything else paled in comparison.
This I do know-I don't want to enter heaven and the Lord to say to me, "Who are you?". And I certainly don't want to ask Him, "Who are you?"

[HKHaugan]

Absolutely on target. David among others really caught that intimacy as you said. The interesting thing is that the prophets each had their own unique experience of that intimacy. If we read them using the intimacy theme their individuality signals what Jesus later enabled through the Holy Spirit, a personal impression of God that is special to each person. The Hebrew people had to rely on the intimacy of the prophets, priests and kings. In Jesus it was open to all of us.
Keep the insights coming. ><>W

anne marie morrison said:

I think God's idea of intimacy is a two way open communication with His created beings. If we only had an inkling of His desire for us-for us to get to know Him-yes, while we are here on earth. Look at David; do you not think that God desires that from each of us? David desired God, loved God, and most imporatntly, opened his heart up to the Lord. He was not afraid, David left himself totally open to God. And what did God do? He honored that. He loved David back, He made himself known to David. God severely disciplined David, but David continued to pant after Him. David saw his kingdom fall apart and his family ruined, but he continued to trust in the Lord. What David had with the Lord must have been so intimate, so fulfilling, so enlightening, that everything else paled in comparison.
This I do know-I don't want to enter heaven and the Lord to say to me, "Who are you?". And I certainly don't want to ask Him, "Who are you?"