Karate For Christ International

 

Thou shalt serve the Lord thy God and the children under your care to the best of your abilities.
Thou shalt preach and teach in Jesus' name and in the name of no other.
Thou shalt not lay on them burdens which they can not manage.
Thou shalt not allow pride to lead thee astray.
Thou shalt not claim rank or title that thou hast not earned.
Thou shalt not accept cross ranking in arts thou hast not trained in.
Thou shalt not sell, barter, or give rank to those who have not trained under you.
Thou shalt not purchase rank, rank certificates, titiles, or degrees for it is in the journey that knowledge is gained and all else is a vain lie.
Verily, I say unto thee, if Karate for Christ finds thee in sin because of these things thou shalt be removed from our ministry for our standard is higher than that or the world and to the world's level thou shalt not fall.

Members will be requested to provide proof of performance / rank

Joseph Lumpkin

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A Lesson In Spiritual Accounting

Over the last week or two I have been privileged to see how oddly people can 
interact. As usual, I have tried to take away a lesson from the situation. 
One of these lessons I wish to pass on to you now. We will call it the 
lesson of Zero-Sum-Gain.

Zero-Sum-Gain is an economics term used to describe a theory that says there 
is a finite and limited supply of wealth in the world and so the more you 
have the less I can have. Now, in a closed loop – macrocosmic system where 
one takes in to account the ultimate limited resources of the planet a Zero 
Sum Gain view may have some merit. If we were to say there is just so many 
resources that can be made in to just so much stuff and sold for just so 
much an amount then maybe this theory holds water. Certainly in a company 
with limited wealth and a bottom line for payroll the more you get paid the 
less is left for me. This certainly can lead to greed and envy as person is 
pitted against person. But this is not how God runs things. There is no 
limit to God’s power or His blessings.

As I have conversed with those like Mr. Petrotta and Mr. McGee I began to 
make some sense out of the things I was seeing. It comes down to truth and 
perspective.

I have, of late, been seeing signs of how we think in worldly terms about 
spiritual things. One man spoke to me about his ministry becoming “the head” 
and not “the tail”. Others have said or acted as if they were hearing from 
God and thus anyone who disagreed with them was “of the devil” and we must 
not be servants of God. This shows an idea that God’s blessings are a zero 
sum gain. This started me thinking about how some Christians are resentful 
of anything God does for others and not for them. God is infinite and can 
bless all equally or in different ways and never run out of blessings. He 
has saved us all equally, fully, and completely. If He were to bless me by 
making me healthy there would still be the same amount of health to go 
around. God speaks to all of His children. Never think that if He tells you 
to do something He is not talking equally loudly to His other children. The 
spiritual world, God’s world, and His gifts to us are not limited. There 
should never be envy, greed, or jealousy when it comes to the blessings of 
God. Remember – God’s ways are usually the opposite of man’s ways. Below is 
a list to help keep this in mind:

In man’s world do we what is right for yourself
In God’s World we do what is right for others

In man’s world we scratch to get ahead
In God’s world we wait upon the Lord

In man’s world there is one leader
In God’s world we are all called to be priests.

In man’s world the more you have the less I have
In God’s world we can all have it all

Man’s ways are self-righteous
God’s way is righteousness.

In man’s world the heart is fickle and selfish
In God’s world the heart always pleads the same plea – Love God and Love 
others more than yourself.

In man’s world we have managers that bring the CEO’s words to the workers
In God’s world he are all expected to listen to God. If you think God speaks 
to you and therefore if others disagree with you they are not following God 
you need a psychiatrist.

If you are spiteful, envious, or resentful of what God is doing for others, 
you need to get saved.

There is one more thing that has become apparent this week. We cannot all 
walk together. It doesn’t mean we are right or wrong. It means God will send 
some to the East skipping and dancing, and He will send others to the West 
walking or on their knees.

The Karate for Christ Ministry, like any other ministry, is for those who 
are walking in the same general direction. Along the way we keep each other 
company and support one another. If you are called to go in a different 
direction then walk in that direction with God. If it disagrees with the 
philosophy of Karate for Christ simply tell us and we will delete your 
listing. This is not a big deal. Don’t cause confusion by trying to walk to 
two directions. Don’t be double-minded. It isn’t right for the ministry or 
yourself.

If you are a Christian you are welcome here. We desire fellowship with you.
If you sell rank, sokeships, ordination, or degrees you are not welcome. We 
are trying to keep a standard higher than that. We think that paper without 
work and trials are lies.

If you are serving others you are welcome here.
If you abandon your class, leave your kids, or try to drain money from the 
poor we don’t want you.

If you have your own ministry we will support you as long as you are in 
harmony with our beliefs (see the above list). If you are not in harmony, 
that is ok. God calls people differently, but don’t try to blame us because 
we don’t agree. If you can’t support us simply go someplace else.
If you are trying to use us, our membership, our website, or our email lists 
to advance your own kingdom, we do not want you.
There are a few out there that have harvested our member’s email addresses 
and are using them illegally. It is shameful to use a Christian ministry in 
such a way. You need to be beaten and then saved.

If we catch you doing things that break the above rules, don’t go crying 
foul or attack or lash out. Only a child or an idiot would break rules he 
had been warned about and still cry foul because he was caught. Don’t join 
us if you do these things, or leave if you decide to do them. That is simple 
and it saves a lot of misery.

To sum it all up – All can be blessed fully, but not all can be blessed 
together. All can be called, but not all are called to do the same thing or 
to do things in the same way. God’s ways are not a Zero-Sum-Gain. Your 
blessing does not affect my blessing and mine does not affect yours. God is 
big enough to heal, save, and bless all. Within ministries there are 
standards and there are rules. Karate for Christ does not have many rules, 
but there are a few. We welcome all styles and all denominations, but we do 
not welcome all people because there will be those who do not follow our 
simple rules.

Karate for Christ seeks to serve its teachers and its children. It seeks to 
save the lost, mature the saint, and minister to the children. It seeks to 
do so with a high standard and calling in mind. We are very proud of our 
members and the standards they bring. Our members are helping thousand of 
children each day. We have the strongest ministry of its type in the world. 
That is a blessing and a curse. It means that each week we receive 
testimonies of salvation and each week we have to deal with things we should 
never have to hear about.
I depend on the 99% out there who are working, serving, and ministering to 
make it all worthwhile. Please keep up the good work.

God bless and keep us

Joseph Lumpkin