The Proximity Effect
By Douglas B. Clark
Recently I was at a conference where someone had a vision of a golden calf positioned at the front of the church and all the people in the audience were gathered around this golden calf worshiping it. The person who had this vision then asked the Lord what the golden calf was and the Lord told her it was “self.” The vision was shared with the group and the leader began to ask everyone if they had any idols in their lives. The thought did not occur to him that the network he is trying to build was the golden calf!
So what is the connection between the golden calf and self?
When the children of Israel built their golden calf they accomplished it by melting together their individual pieces of gold. Gold can symbolize what God gives each of us of Himself.
Revelation 3:18 says: “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”
We often emphasize that it is by grace we are saved, but in Revelation 3:18 we are asked to buy gold that has been refined in the fire. Why would God ask us to buy something from Him when His gift of salvation is free? The implication is that He has something of Himself He desires to give us, but it will come at a cost! Most of us know this well and have paid a price to receive God’s precious gold.
So how does the gold that God gives us become a golden calf?
This conference brought to mind how easily we often stray from seeing truths revealed by the Spirit, to building our own kingdom. We deceive ourselves if we think that understanding mysteries makes us immune from error. If Abraham succumbed to temptation to try and fulfill God’s promise in his own power why would we be any less susceptible? Our determination to further the Kingdom of God can tempt us to forge together what we have received individually from the Lord into something that resembles the corporate expression of God, but is a counterfeit, a mixture of flesh and Spirit. It has happened to every move of God and I believe it will happen again.
I don’t see this as a black and white issue like the Pharisees and Sadducees verses the Disciples of Christ. What we are talking about here are folks who have genuinely received something from God and who love Him. Yet there is something in them that has led them to a path of self-effort and they do not realize it!
The desire for unity often causes us to try and fit what God is doing into a nice package where everything flows smoothly. Whenever there is an attempt to achieve this unity or cohesiveness there are two phenomena present that are similar to the skin effect and the proximity effect found in electromagnetism. The skin effect is a phenomenon where the current preferentially flows through the outer portion (or skin) of the conductor. If similar currents are flowing through one or more nearby conductors the current will be constrained to smaller regions. The resulting current crowding is termed proximity effect. The combination of skin and proximity effects significantly increases the AC resistance of the conductor. The additional resistance increases electrical losses, which, in turn, generate undesirable heating. Another way to say it is: Proximity effect is the tendency for current to flow in undesirable patterns—loops or concentrated distributions—due to the presence of magnetic fields generated by nearby conductors. (1& 2)
In other words, there is a decreased ability to efficiently conduct electricity because the current flows on the outside of the wire, creating a magnetic field that interferes with the current traveling on other conductors when they are in close proximity to each other. So, if the current traveled on the inside of the conductor there would be less interference when brought into proximity to other conductors that also had the current traveling on the inside.
Many Believers have experienced a restricted the flow of God’s current on the outside of their being, with very little happening on the inside. They may attend conferences and buy the latest CDs and DVDs on how to unlock the power of God in their lives, but year after year they continue on in their journey without much happening on the inside to transform them into sons of God! This is the skin effect. There may be a heat generated in their gatherings from their close proximity to each other, but often times it is the heat generated by self-effort, the works of the flesh. It is only the anointing bouncing around the room as it remains on the outside of their being.
When we come together, the combination of focusing on the anointing traveling on the outside, along with our religious influence over each other, can cause what God is speaking to us individually to become less effective at truly changing our lives. Our ears become tuned in to what unites the group and not necessarily what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us individually. This happens in churches, home groups and on even on forums – any place where people gather together in the name of the Lord there is the possibility of restricting the flow of the Spirit to the outside (the skin effect) and exerting religious influence over each other (proximity effect.)
Visualize with me a small, kingdom-of-God-teaching, fellowship. There are prophetic words given. There are visions and revelations shared. The anointing is present in most of the gatherings and you can sense the electrical charge from the flow of the Spirit in the service. From all outward appearances everything looks fine — a vibrant young fellowship. But, if we could see as God sees we may notice that something is not right. For even though the anointing is present on the surface there is something missing on the inside! Year after year folks continue to look outward to the pastor, prophet and the apostle. There is a flow of the Spirit, but it remains on the outside, never penetrating beyond the beliefs of the group. Can you see the correlation between the flow of the Spirit being on the outside and Jesus standing at the door of the Laodicea church, knocking and waiting to see if any INDIVIDUAL would open the door? (Re 3:20)
Why is it so many are “ever learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the truth?” (2 Ti 3:7) This is the skin effect. It is here the possibility exist to have a religious experience without truly dying to “self.” Adam continues to direct our attention outward, while Jesus is trying to get in so He can build His kingdom that is within.
I was at a meeting recently and the pastor asked the audience, “How many have come here tonight to get filled?” Hands immediately went up all over the auditorium.
The question must be asked. Why would we come to a meeting to be filled? Jesus said, “but whomever drinks any of the water that I shall give him will never, never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become a fountain within him of water springing up for the Life of the Ages.” (John 4:14 Weymouth)
How do we reconcile the words of Jesus telling us that we will “never thirst” when the plight of many Believers is always seeking to be filled? Our continued need to be filled indicates we are not drinking from the living water that is springing up from within us. This is the realm where the flow of the Spirit is restricted to the outside of our being, instead of looking to the Christ within for sustenance.
I confess there have been many times that I was spiritually parched because I was looking outward rather than inward. Learning to drink from the fountain springing up inside us is a process. If we continue to grow in Christ there comes a time when He cuts off the spiritual irrigation we receive from looking to others.
When the flow of God’s Spirit is restricted to the outside of our being this creates a void in true knowledge that comes from knowing Him and hearing His voice. Because of this lack, it is human nature to seek out some facsimile to fill the gap. Usually this means latching on to someone else’s revelation. The problem is, knowledge without revelation has no life. Often times this experience digresses until the blind are leading the blind.
Whenever the ideas and doctrines of the group take preeminence in our lives there is an overcrowding of voices that make it difficult for us to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit clearly. This is the proximity effect and it stunts the growth of many a Believer.
Of course, not everyone who looks elsewhere is following another’s revelation. Some replace the living water springing up from within with Biblical knowledge. We see this in Jesus’ time when the Pharisees who knew the scriptures rejected the Messiah who was foretold. It still happens today. Though we should “study to show ourselves approved,” knowledge does not replace the inner voice of God. I have a great respect for those who understand Biblical Greek and Hebrew, and those with an understanding of historical perspective, but knowledge without the inner voice of the Holy Spirit to guide us will not produce life.
The fact that our sustenance flows from within us does not mean we are isolated from others in the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is networking the body and within this fellowship there is a place for instruction, encouragement and confirmation. In each generation God raises up those who declare His truth! However, the bedrock for receiving from our Creator is the spirit of revelation. Without the spirit of revelation the eyes of our understanding will not be opened. (Eph 1:17-18) When God reveals a truth to you and me He is not simply showing us facts, He is imparting something of Himself in our inner man! He is giving us a foretaste of what He is going to make a reality in us. So you see, there is a vast world of difference between learning truth and having it imparted by the Holy Spirit. If you are only learning truth you will continually need to be filled, however, when the Holy Spirit imparts the life of the God you will never thirst again, as long as you continue to drink from the well springing up within you.
Over the past eight or nine years a significant number of people have left the institutional church in pursuit of a more authentic experience with our Creator. Many of those who have come out of the I.C. have adapted to home churches, or simple churches, without the traditional hierarchy found in catholic and protestant churches. It is here many are getting a taste of what it is like to be the body of Christ – going house-to-house ministering one-to-another. This is a good thing.
But, as history has shown is, it is one thing to come out of Babylon and quite another to have Babylon removed from us. That is why in every move of God only a remnant continues in their journey to know Him. The majority always returns to the bondage of self-rule. Will the home church movement digress into apostasy?
George Davis has written these pertinent words from his article, “The New Nicene Home Church Council:”
“The home church has already embraced many of the things that led to the apostasy of the early church. The development is always the same. It begins with a community, gathered and empowered by divine life. Soon it degenerates into a movement, identified by champions, titles and its own unique message. From there this chronic and often fatal disease grows into a full-blown case of institutionalism with councils, creeds and bylaws. Institutionalism, like all deadly diseases, feeds on its hosts to insure its own survival. Finally, what was once vital and living becomes so dead that only the dead can stand it—a catacomb full of dead people propped up and made to look alive by religious machinery.
What is next? Where is the house church community in this process? We have come to Constantinople and to The New Nicene Home-Church Council, where heresies and heretics are discussed.
Now that we have defined groups and have networked many of them together and have well-defined authorities, the next step is to gather those authorities together for the purpose of defining truth and error and identifying heretics. What is a heretic? “What were the Romish arguments from the days of the Nicene debate down to the pontifical anathema? They were, Truth is one–therefore, true believers cannot differ. But they DO differ–therefore, there is heresy. Heresy must be kept out. Make a creed to keep it out; and as to which side IS heresy–heresy is the opinion which is in the MINORITY” (Beecher, 1846). There is only one problem with this. Throughout church history, the majority was always wrong. A faithful few stood for truth, often at the expense of their very lives. Who killed them? The majority did. Then they were called “heretics”. Today they are called Saints. The difference between a heretic and a saint is a couple hundred years.
Look for judgments to be issued on a large number of biblical topics and for heretics to be called before said council to give an account for their twisted views. When the authorities set in conclave and agree the illustrious brotherhood of heretics always grows exponentially.
What is next as we follow this parallelism of the early church and the home church?
Welcome to the dark ages!” End of quote.
It was in March of this year (2006) the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about the coming move of God. I saw two distinct groups. One was made up of various organizations and ministries who sought to provide a covering for God’s people. The other was made up of individuals who were loosely connected and were taught directly by the Holy Spirit. At the time the Lord showed me this I was unaware that a mass exodus from the institutional church had already been taking place for several years. I had been in an isolated wilderness experience for nine years and had no idea what was going on. I was blown away when I came across websites like Harvestnet.org, outofchurch.com and awildernessvoice.com and found out about the mass exodus.
As the Holy Spirit continued to speak with me I saw two rivers. They looked identical, only one was hovering over the other one. I heard the voice of the Spirit tell me that it was a false river that was hovering and trying to cover the true river of life. I continued to see things unfolding in the Spirit that greatly troubled me, but the voice of God comforted me saying, “Do not be afraid for it is all of me.”
Regarding the false river I saw a great movement rise up in the earth made up of various streams flowing together to make up this mighty river. These streams were united in one purpose and that was to establish the kingdom of God here in the earth. The intentions were good, but misdirected because they were powered by self-effort.
In contrast I saw many individuals who were having a divine encounter with God. They were hidden from sight and were receiving their teaching directly from the Holy Spirit. This went on for some time. Then I saw something quite spectacular. These individuals began to arise with a mighty anointing. They were from all over the world. They were united entirely by the Holy Spirit without the direction of any man or ministry. They each were led independently, yet functioned like a group of synchronized swimmers. This beautiful display of God in His corporate body shone brightly against the backdrop of the other movement made up of organizations and leaders.
Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within. Our journey and destination is a spiritual place located within us. The Adamic nature always focuses on the outside, for Adam knows that if the focus remains on the outside then “self” can hide behind all the religious activity. Therefore, we have the tendency to allow the anointing on the outside while resisting the inner flow of the Spirit that will bring about a true death-to-self and enable the Spirit of God to come alive within. There is much that pertains to corporate gatherings that has the appearance of spiritual life, but in reality is only a flow of the anointing that skims the surface. As we move beyond Pentecost and enter the Feast of Tabernacles we are separated unto Him. It is in our individual booths out in the wilderness where our wilderness experience is transformed into a glorious place in Him where we become a watered garden. It is truly an “In gathering” that we are experiencing. In our wilderness journey the Holy Spirit teaches us to drink from the fountain springing up with us, causing both the skin effect and the proximity effect to dissipate.
The Dynamics of The Corporate Body of Christ
What God brings together is dynamic. Everything born of the Spirit is dynamic. It is alive and is constantly changing. If you look at pictures of yourself at six months, six years and at twenty-six you will notice a difference in your appearance. If you looked exactly the same in each picture something would be wrong. Because we are alive in Him there is constant change as we respond to what He is doing inside us. Our understanding of Him should be growing too.
On the other hand, carnal men take the dynamics of the Spirit, derive a formula and make a static systematic organization out of it. It is in our Adamic nature to create a form of godliness that doesn’t have power to change the inward man! This is why the living word of God is constantly cutting away the soulish counterfeit life that seeks to replace the true life of the Spirit. (Heb 4:12)
When God does something it is for a season and a purpose. It is important to understand this because it is when the season is over and the purpose fulfilled that carnal men gather their pieces of gold and melt them together to form a golden calf. Almost every dead, static thing that carnal men create starts out as a vibrant, dynamic experience orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. It is when God’s season and purpose for a particular thing has ended that the static form of godliness is birthed.
There is an ebb and flow to our experience in the Lord and our fellowship with one another. He brings us together for confirmation, encouragement, deliverance, healing, instruction, opportunities of service and sometimes just to rub elbows. When He brings us together there is always life!
Because God’s people are all at different levels of understanding, the Holy Spirit brings us together in very dynamic ways. Ray Prinzing once said, “The truth that sets you free today will bind you tomorrow.” How often have we unknowingly opposed the Holy Spirit because we were holding on to yesterday’s truth? No one understands all mysteries. God gives each of us what we need for today and as we walk it out He increases our understanding. The truth of the matter is we can have deeper truth staring us in the face and not recognize it as deeper truth because we are not ready for it.
While I was still a teenager the Lord brought me in contact with a brother in Christ who the Lord used to help bring me into the flow of the prophetic. Often times while driving down the road together the prophetic anointing was so strong we would have to pull off the road and prophesy. In meetings I often knew what my brother would prophesy before he opened his mouth. The Lord brought us together for my training.
One day we were heading out of town to hold some meetings. On the way there the Lord showed me some young people He was going to bring me in contact with that He wanted me to meet. I told my brother what the Lord showed me. A day after we arrived we were walking by the Ohio River when we came across three or four teenagers singing and playing guitar. We stopped and spoke with them. In our conversation I discovered they were Believers, but that they belonged to a group called the “Way” that was considered a Christian cult.
Despite these folks involvement with a cult I was sure they were the people the Holy Spirit had shown me. I invited them to our meetings and I also went over to their house to visit with them. That evening I had a dream. In the dream the brother who I was traveling with came up to me and said, “Brother, I know this sounds crazy but the Lord told me to do this.” He then picked me up in his arms and carried me like a baby. He walked ten steps and laid me down. The dream changed and I was walking around carrying a baby boy who was my son and I was so proud of him!
The interpretation to the dream was the Lord used this brother to “carry me” into the things of the Spirit. But now there was something of God that was being birthed in me.
The very next evening the young people I met came to our meeting. The brother I was traveling with along with the pastors of the small fellowship treated these young people like they were the devil himself. They were very rude and unloving toward them. They also extended their unloving attitude toward me since I had befriended them. From that moment on there was a wedge between the brother who had been my mentor and myself. I was dumbfounded as to what was happening. A couple of days later I was left stranded when the brother returned home without me. I was very hurt and confused. This was someone I greatly admired and looked up to as my older brother in Christ.
After a period of time I realized that the Lord had separated us despite the circumstances. Our time and purpose together had come to a close. It was unimaginable to me that there could be something more than what I had experienced with my elder brother. The Lord continued to use my brother in the Pentecostal realm, but I began to realize that I was called to a different walk. This is why the Lord separated us.
This is a hard concept for many to grasp. Jesus said the world would know you are my disciples by your love for each other. Doesn’t it seem like a contradiction? How could a God of love allow division among members of his body? The truth of the matter is that there are things in us that have to be removed so that we fit together properly. God’s unity is formed in spirit, whereas, the unity of man is a group of folks coming together to build a tower to reach the heavens. There is a difference between the two.
The love of God is rooted in purpose and destiny. That destiny is to be conformed to Him. Everything that transpires in our lives is purposed in fulfilling that destiny.
A friend of ours sends her children to a private school where each student works at his or her own pace. They cannot move on in a particular subject until they grasp an understanding of that area of study. The older students are able to review what they have already learned by helping the younger ones who may be struggling. They are all in school, but are at different levels working at their individual pace. This pattern of learning parallels our experience on the path of knowing our Creator.
Along the path that leads to Him we are all traveling at different rates of speed. For some reason there are those who go so far on the path and then setup camp. While they are in the camp they often forget the path continues and that God has more. Through God’s mercy He will use that individual where they are at – often assisting others who are arriving at that point in their journey. However, for those who continue on in their journey they are often misunderstood by those who have setup camp.
Can you see why the focus on unity and fellowship as the primary goal produces a higher probability of a stagnant spiritual life? In order to maintain the flow of the group there is pressure to conform and compromise. Many will make this compromise without realizing they are doing so. What so often begins, as a vibrant spiritual life seamlessly becomes a substitute religious life with barely a notice.
The Corporate Gathering
Many Believers’ are looking for proximity within the body of Christ. They expect the Lord to bring us into physical proximity of each other so that we can be of one accord in one place. Truly there are times and seasons we are brought together for wonderful displays of God moving in His people. We visualize this as God’s corporate expression and it is, but He has something more that exceeds physical proximity to one another.
To understand God’s corporate expression we must first realize the universe of God is not in the vast unknown throughout the cosmos of time and space. God’s universe is within us. Since the realm of His universe is within, the corporate expression of His body must also be birthed from within.
The Adamic nature always directs our attention outward, for the rule of man is from without, always seeking to dominate the spirit of Christ inside us and to place a covering upon us of man’s authority. Since Adam’s rule is from without it has no ability to transform the inner nature. The best Adam can do is offer up a religious substitute and that is exactly what he does!
Since God is omnipresent we do not need to go searching here or there to experience His presence. It is a wrong mindset to consider His kingdom as having to do with some geographical location here in America, Jerusalem or elsewhere in the world. There is but one portal to the heavens and that is through being reconciled to the Father by the Son. Wherever two or three are gathered together in His name He is there. Yet, because the Kingdom of God is not of this physical world, it is not necessary to be in physical proximity to each other in order to function as His corporate body. What matters is our proximity to Him. We are being seated together in heavenly places. As we abide in proximity of His presence we will spiritually be in proximity to each other. The invisible connection that the Holy Spirit is establishing between us is far stronger than any connection we can achieve on our own.
All of creation is waiting and groaning for the revealing of the sons of God. (Rom 8:19) This revealing will be a manifestation of His corporate body. We who are the first fruits yearn to experience the corporate expression of Christ’s appearing in the saints. But I tell you that as this expression unfolds, the only banner that will be seen will be the banner of His love in us, spilling out on those around us.
The leaders that are being raised up at this time are not leaders as we think in the traditional sense. They will be transparent, mostly working behind the scenes. The corporate beauty that God is about to express in the earth will have only one visible leader and that is the Holy Spirit, because each member will have the mind of Christ and will follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. The interaction that transpires as a result of each of us hearing His voice and obeying is the corporate expression of the body of Christ in its truest form.
Connecting the Dots
Many years ago, Dwight Johnson was driving down the road through Bremen, Indiana when the Holy Spirit came upon him and told him to go to a particular house and knock on the door. He pulled his car in the driveway, walked up the steps and firmly tapped several times. A moment later a woman opened the door. Dwight looked at her and said, “Lady, this may sound crazy, but God told me to knock on your door.” The woman looked at him and said, “Not at all, The Lord told us he was going to send an angel.” She opened the door and invited Dwight into the house where several people were in the midst of a prayer meeting. Without hesitation brother Dwight began to prophesy over everyone there – confirming God’s word in each person’s life. This encounter opened the door for Dwight to develop a relationship with these folks. For several months the Lord used him to share at their weekly meeting held in the basement of the local bank. What a beautiful expression of God’s corporate body functioning in one Spirit, with one mind.
I am sure the Lord still has people like Dwight who may knock on a stranger’s door, but more common today folks are meeting over the internet. God is connecting members of His body from all over the world by them stumbling across each other on the Internet.
When the Spirit of the Lord first began to speak to me that He was going to use the Internet to bring His called-out ones together I began to scour all the Christian websites looking for some sign of life. Eventually I came across Harvestnet.org. It was there I found others who are hearing from the Lord. Through Harvestnet.org I met Teri and Bob, who introduced me to Michael, and Tim. Through Michael I met George and others. Through Tim I met Liz and Jamie. On Harvestnet.org I have also met several others including Pete from the UK and Christine who connected me with Karen who has introduced me to many others. Just the other day Christine sends me an article by Michael and George and so I introduced all of them. I got an email the other day from Carol in New Zealand who read a prophetic word the Lord gave me that someone posted on another forum. Do you see the pattern that is emerging? God is connecting the dots. He is bringing us together by His Spirit and making us aware of one another. I have had some blessed fellowship over the telephone these past several months.
The Fellowship of Believers
Recently someone shared with me how the Lord has laid it upon his heart to open up his home for fellowship. He commented how that for the past several years he has been separated unto the Lord and has been writing about what God is revealing to him, but that he has felt isolated from interaction with the body. He told me that he could write an essay on grace, but it was quite another matter to show that grace in action with other Believers. He was longing for the opportunity to live out what the Lord is showing him. I cannot argue his point and I pray God richly blesses him and his family and those who are led to come fellowship with them, as they express the love of Christ to one another.
I expect the Holy Spirit will bring others together in a similar manner so they too can live out what the Holy Spirit is speaking to them. There are things to be learned and experienced, but with those experiences there always comes a test. If we are presented with the opportunity to build our own empire, if others come whom want to place us on a pedestal, will we succumb to the temptation? Many great men and women of God have faced this exam and have failed.
There is a season and a purpose for all God does. My prayer is that this brother, who I greatly respect, will pass his exam with flying colors! I pray that He will allow the meetings to remain dynamic and directed by the Holy Spirit. I pray that when someone approaches him and wants to make a static, systematic organization that Christ in Him will rise up and say no.
I pray that each of us obey the voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives and that we don’t confuse our kingdom building with the true corporate expression that is unfolding in the earth. As we wait upon the Lord to fulfill His promises may we resist the temptation of forging a golden calf.
Douglas B. Clark
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximity_effect
(2) http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sullivan/litzwire/skin.html