Articles by Paul Scanlon

Events vs. Process

It is of a fundamental and foundational nature. Foundational things by definition are below ground, out of sight and hidden. We assume the presence of foundations in the buildings around us because we see the buildings standing tall. But any weaknesses in them will be exposed over time either by an event like an earthquake or through a process of gradual subsidence. Then it’s too late.

I spent weeks on this concept with my home church because I realised that people would not appreciate its value from a casual glance. By itself this teaching is not exciting, entertaining or eventful enough to command the attention it so deserves. It’s like a quiet child amongst a boisterous family; it gets little attention because it doesn’t shout the loudest. But I want to speak up for this quiet child and say to all the noisy attention-grabbing kids, ‘Be quiet!’ because this quiet child really does have something to say.

Time For Detox

Many of you reading this are right now in a transition orchestrated by God to move you from an event based Christianity to a process based Christianity. The insecurity, uncertainty, fear and panic you feel is a kind of spiritual ‘cold turkey’ as you withdraw from your event dependency habit. It’s time to admit that you have an events addiction, you are an ‘events junkie’ and the longer you go between ‘hits’ the more strung out you become. The ‘pushers’ who supply your addiction are the ‘quick fix’ preachers - and at times I have been one of them - who promise you an instant breakthrough for everything you don’t want to deal with through a process. Their context is the quick-fix 21st century western culture in which we live. This ‘spirit of the age’ elevates and celebrates instantaneous events and barely tolerates slow moving process. Please understand, I’m all for getting things done faster and more efficiently wherever possible. But the truth is that some things take time and that’s OK. Process says: things don’t happen in a day, things develop daily.

We overestimate events and we underestimate process

We overestimate the conference, the prophecy, the preaching and the prayer line. We tell ourselves that the more dramatic the event, the bigger the result will be. I thank God for events, for every touch, blessing, encounter and miracle. But events without process will not produce lasting change. During the past 30 years in the same local church, all too often I’ve witnessed people over endorsing the ability of an event to change their lives. Sadly, weeks or even just days later, the enemy cashes in on their unreality as they battle disillusionment and disappointment because the problem still exists. What I have tried to teach people is that the event was good for making a decision, a commitment, a stand, but that decision will not bring about the desired change without the back up of a process. Events are good for making decisions but only process can bring lasting change. Don’t build your life primarily on event based decisions or experiences, build your life on process. Don’t rely on events to change, move or convict you; commit to a life-long process of growing and changing.

When we look to an event for things that can come only by process, we create a life of false expectations. Events become loaded with such high expectations that if the event could speak I’m sure it would say, ‘I’m only an event! I can help you make some decisions but those decisions will take time to work out. You need to meet my close friend process, we always work together’.

Fruitful life or Eventful life?

‘Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”’1 

Here we see the difference between people who live their lives in a process of fruit bearing and those who bypass the process in favour of momentous events, believing that they will achieve a certain outcome. Jesus fast-forwards the consequences of both lives to their ultimate conclusion. His response to those who expected entrance to heaven based on events they had performed is, ‘I never knew you’.

A tree is known by what it bears and fruit bearing is a process not an event. The message is clear: events can never replace process. In fact life doesn’t have to be either/or, it can be an awesome combination of both. God is not looking for an eventful life, he is looking for a fruitful life.

To keep the event, start a process

One day Jesus came across a man who had been crippled for 38 years.2  He was waiting by a pool for an event that would change his life. He got his event, albeit in a different way to that which he had been expecting. Later on he encountered Jesus again and at this second meeting Jesus said something very personal to him: ‘See, you are well again. Now stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.’3   In other words, unless you follow through after your miraculous event with a new lifestyle, a new process, you may lose the benefit of the event.

Again, when describing what happens when a demon is cast out of a person, Jesus contrasts events with process: ‘When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, “I will return to the house I left.” When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.’ 4

Like any successful intruder, the demon returns to the last house he robbed just in case the owners haven’t bothered to improve security. When the return visit reveals that the event of deliverance has become a swept clean, beautifully preserved show house instead of a re-occupied home, he moves back in with others. The event of casting the demon out was not enough without the process of a new way of life to back it up. Then when that demon came sniffing around again, he would find the house filled with new burglar-proof systems in the form of new values, truths, habits, relationships and culture.

Show us a sign and we will believe

This is what the religious leaders of Jesus’ day demanded. They wanted him to do something sufficiently miraculous to convince them of who he was. Jesus’ reply once again sprang from his appeal to the power of process: ‘The mood of this age is all wrong - everybody’s looking for proof, but you’re looking for the wrong kind. All you’re looking for is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles, but the only proof you’re gonna get is the Jonah proof given to the Ninevites, which looks like no proof at all. But what Jonah was to Nineveh, I am to this age.’ 5

In other words, people who refuse to see what’s obvious and instead ask for a sign - an event - are often avoiding their responsibility of dealing with what they already know to be true. Jesus pointed to the process of God’s multiple attempts to reach out to people throughout history. He was simply informing them that the process of Jonah’s preaching was the only sign that Nineveh got and that his preaching would be the only sign the Jews would get. If that was more than enough for the Ninevites who had far less of a messenger than Jesus, then they had no grounds to ask for some weird and wonderful sign or event from him now.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Jesus made the same point when he told the story of the rich man and Lazarus.6  In the after life the rich man, now in hell, is trying to convince Abraham that the dramatic event of Lazarus returning from the dead to warn his family would save them from a similar fate. Abraham’s response was that if people wouldn’t listen to the long line of prophets throughout history they wouldn’t listen just because someone returned from the dead. The rich man wanted a dramatic event to grab the attention of his unbelieving relatives but Abraham pointed to the powerful testimony of process as sufficient information and opportunity to make men accountable regarding eternity.

Creation Speaks

The apostle Paul makes it clear that creation itself is testimony enough to the presence, power and nature of the invisible God: ‘The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.’ 7

God doesn’t refer to an event to establish man’s accountability to him, but to the process of creation which Paul says makes God plain enough to people, so much so that they are without excuse. Although Paul is writing in a post-crucifixion era, he doesn’t centre mankind’s accountability exclusively on an awareness of the cross. The ongoing process of creation is evidence of an omnipotent creator; the cross of Calvary is the event through which that creator can be known personally.

The purpose of the process of creation is to escort humanity to the event of Calvary. At Calvary both God the creator, the God of process, and God the Saviour, the God of divine intervention and rescue, came together perfectly. Sometimes process leads us to an event, sometimes it takes us onwards from an event. Either way, process is the leader of our lives not events.

Adam missed creation

The greatest six-day event of all time was completely missed by Adam the first man. Adam woke up into process, into a world that was already fruitful and reproductive.  God could have created Adam earlier, he could have made sure Adam witnessed him speaking everything into being, but he didn’t. It would seem that being present during the eventful days of creation was not essential to Adam’s revelation and understanding of God.

Adam’s relationship with God was not based on events, or God doing things for him or meeting his needs, but rather on process. Adam ‘walked with God’8  he didn’t meet him every night in a prayer line. Adam talked with God, he didn’t just talk to him when he had a problem or need. Adam partnered with God in the naming of the animals, the keeping of the garden and ultimately with Eve in the populating of the earth.

Adam and Eve’s mandate was processional and generational; to be fruitful and multiply, and to live in dominion over all creation. As far as we know Adam never had a miracle, saw a miracle or ever asked for or needed a miracle. He operated entirely according to cause and affect, sowing and reaping, obedience and blessing, action and reaction. We could learn a lot from Adam’s relationship with God.

Counselling from process

Over the years I have often wrestled with what seemed like a huge difference between my approach to a problem and the approach of those I was attempting to help through counselling. I didn’t always understand what that gap was, but I was very aware of its consequences. Some people became impatient and frustrated with my counsel, others had a kind of faked interest as if humouring me or being polite, yet had no real intention of changing. I got weary of fighting to save people’s families, marriages and finances who were unwilling to fight for themselves.

I now understand that the gap was created by the difference between our two approaches to life. I believe that it’s not life’s problems that defeat us, it’s who we are and how we think that defeats us; the problem simply exposes what’s in us. I realised that whilst I was counselling from a process mentality and asking for a process response, they were listening from an event mentality and looking for an event to fix everything. The more I explained both the process that caused the problems and the process that would resolve them, the more switched off and disinterested they became. Why? Because I wasn’t giving them any sign of a quick-fix solution.

Supernatural Vs. Spectacular

Nowhere is this Events versus Process imbalance more evident than in much of the church’s confusion between the supernatural and the spectacular.

This was Naaman’s problem; he was offended by the ordinariness of Elisha’s instructions and stormed off in bad attitude. Naaman represents so many in today’s 21st century church culture, who are convinced that the more severe the problem the more spectacular and eventful the answer has to be. Naaman believed that for something to be truly supernatural it had to be spectacular. So, being handled by a member of staff instead of the ‘main man’ and being told to dip seven times in a filthy river was a far cry from his big event mentality: ‘I thought that he would come out to meet me and stand and call upon heaven and then wave his hand over my leprosy’. 9

The truth is that Naaman’s breakthrough was not just about the event of the Jordan river; it was rooted back home in the process of a relationship with a young Hebrew slave girl. It was she who first told her mistress, Namaan’s wife, about Elisha. So, Naaman’s breakthrough was relational, his miracle began in his own house, and so will yours. That ordinary and unequal relationship became a supernatural, if not spectacular, provision to his life.

Some of you reading this have a very narrow definition of what is supernatural because you think in spectacular events not ordinary processes. You may never have heard about the servant girl in Naaman’s house because you have only ever read or been told about the Jordan event. Now, like Naaman, you may be looking for a dramatic event while your miracle is in something much closer to hand and perhaps quite ordinary.

A great, long-standing Christian marriage is supernatural. Great families, friends, teams and churches are all truly supernatural. Black and white, young and old, rich and poor, prostitutes and professors, all doing life together as the people of God, is supernatural. Teenagers loving God and serving their community, that’s supernatural.

Oh how we have de-supernaturalised and downgraded the awesomeness of church life in favour of our pursuit of the spectacular.

Event based churches

People ‘jump ship’ constantly to escape process in favour of joining what I would call an event based church or to chase after an event at an event based conference.

After all, how can we who counsel from process regarding, for example, someone’s financial problems, compete with the visiting ministry who is declaring people debt free every night in his exciting and eventful services? Or how can our counsel to change your habits in order to change your life compete with the instant deliverance on offer across town? What kind of signal does it send to the church in a city, when a brother under the process of discipline in one church gets offered a job in another church just because they laid hands on him and zapped him back into ministry? How can our appeal for self-control compete with the ‘casting out of the demon that’s making me do it’ that’s on offer in ‘Brother Fix It’s’ meetings?

Our commitment to think and work in a long-term process and so influence how things get done, seems dull and unbelieving to the ‘all we need is a revival’ crowd. Our teaching that your breakthrough is about ‘generational choices’ can’t compete with what many prefer to believe; which is that they can’t help their behaviour, because it’s caused by the generational curses from their ancestry.

Beware Uncle Joe

As kids we used to have an uncle called Joe. When Uncle Joe visited our house he was our hero. He gave us sweets, money, toys, piggyback rides and even the occasional drag on his cigarette. Uncle Joe never once corrected us, disciplined us or refused us anything. In short, Uncle Joe was our parent’s nightmare!

Many itinerant ministries are the ‘Uncle Joes’ of church life and any local church pastors who are intolerant of process are no better. Disconnected from the reality and responsibility of the process of  local church, some preachers breeze into our towns and cities with a ‘one night stand’ mentality. During their meetings they promise the earth to our local church children, many of whom are already frustrated by their pastor’s latest counsel to take responsibility and work things through. They then come home from Uncle Joe’s meeting spoilt and unwilling to embrace the process of growth that is the blessing of those who are planted in the house. Uncle Joe prophesies greatness over our children, then sends them back home to us, their spiritual parents, who are now expected to cash the blank cheque which Uncle Joe gave them. I’ve got a better idea, if Uncle Joe thinks so much of them why doesn’t he adopt them and raise them up into the spiritual giants he believes they are!

‘Uncle Joe, we love you, we appreciate your ministry and anointing, but you are not helping us to grow responsible children or churches. You are undermining process and exaggerating events. You are confused between the supernatural and the spectacular and are confusing our local church kids in the process too. Uncle Joe, can we make a deal, that if you will add the balance and beauty of process to your ministry then we will gladly send our kids over to your place and would probably invite you more often over to ours.’

1 Matthew 7:15-23
2 John 5:1-8
3 John 5:14
4 Luke 11:24-26
5 Luke 11:29 Message Bible
6 Luke 16:19-31
7 Romans 1:18-20
8 Genesis 3:8
9 1 Kings 5:11