Lifestyle Christianity – Christian Counterculture: Theology Made Simple

By Michael Westwood Carr

Christianity gives us peace in perplexity, praise in adversity, provision in necessity and purity amidst iniquity. Following Christ’s teaching is never easy, but life enrichment is ensured. We have this divine treasure in earthen vessels.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Feb 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781528998420

Michael Westwood Carr

Michael Carr is now semi-retired and although he does not lead a church, he preaches wherever invited. His last full-time calling was as the pioneering senior minister of the Harrow International Christian Centre, which he founded on 6th December 1987, in the Safari Cinema, Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex. Before that, he ran a house group in his home, in North Wembley, which grew to 50 with 35 in attendance in one year. The house was full! Concurrently, he was the associate minister at Kensington Temple, Elim’s premier church in London, and bishop of the metropolitan region for Elim. He resigned from both those positions to run HICC, which has grown into a flourishing Pentecostal Church of some 50 nations, and several hundred people mingling in joyous harmony. He was born in 1934 into a working-class household and attended a local college to become a mechanical engineer, but changed to civil engineering and building. He completed his BSc in construction technology at Aston University in Birmingham, and eventually entered the lecturing profession when he was 37 because his first wife became critically ill. He gained his MPhil degree at Reading University in estate management and became the subject tutor for three degrees in building studies when Birmingham Polytechnic became the University of Central England. He pioneered his first church when he was 25 in Kings Heath, Birmingham, and built two church buildings, and resigned from that work soon after he entered lecturing. He ran his own radio programme at peak listening time called “Your Home” for Radio Birmingham, which dealt with defects and problems in buildings. He was an MCIOB (Member Chartered Institute of Building) and could handle most questions asked, even without the specialist members of the panel, which he organised. He retired at 50 in 1984 from lecturing and was inducted as the associate minister to Rev Wynne Lewis at Kensington Temple, the leading and largest church in the metropolis. Before this, he was the associate of David Carr, his younger brother, who founded Renewal Christian Centre, Solihull. Whilst living there, he became chairman of the churches – all together in Solihull. He was also the representative for all the Pentecostal churches in the West Midlands on SACRE (Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education) for religious studies in schools. In London, he was appointed leader of all the men’s groups for participating churches in the last Billy Graham Crusade held in the metropolis. As superintendent for Elim, he pastored, taught and managed 55 churches, ministers and their elders making approximately 400 leaders. Coming out of the building industry, he relates to men in particular. Whilst carrying out these anointed callings, he also had time to take his doctorate in ministry, and thus fulfil his overall education having never attended Bible college. He relies on God’s Spirit to underline and underscore his teaching. He was, however, the lecturer in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit at Reagents Bible College for Elim for several years. He has three adult children, his eldest son is a qualified architect and dean of Battersea for the Anglican Church, his second son is a doctor in New Zealand, and his daughter is a fashion designer and consultant specialist in kitchen design. His first wife, Patricia, died in January 2014 and was senior pastor of the church in Harrow. Together they have forged God’s kingdom wherever they went, and complemented each other in their passion and desire to see Christ exalted above all other.

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About the Author

Michael Carr is now semi-retired and although he does not lead a church, he preaches wherever invited. His last full-time calling was as the pioneering senior minister of the Harrow International Christian Centre, which he founded on 6th December 1987, in the Safari Cinema, Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex. Before that, he ran a house group in his home, in North Wembley, which grew to 50 with 35 in attendance in one year. The house was full!

Concurrently, he was the associate minister at Kensington Temple, Elim's premier church in London, and bishop of the metropolitan region for Elim. He resigned from both those positions to run HICC, which has grown into a flourishing Pentecostal Church of some 50 nations, and several hundred people mingling in joyous harmony.

He was born in 1934 into a working-class household and attended a local college to become a mechanical engineer, but changed to civil engineering and building. He completed his BSc in construction technology at Aston University in Birmingham, and eventually entered the lecturing profession when he was 37 because his first wife became critically ill. He gained his MPhil degree at Reading University in estate management and became the subject tutor for three degrees in building studies when Birmingham Polytechnic became the University of Central England.

He pioneered his first church when he was 25 in Kings Heath, Birmingham, and built two church buildings, and resigned from that work soon after he entered lecturing. He ran his own radio programme at peak listening time called Your Home for Radio Birmingham, which dealt with defects and problems in buildings. He was an MCIOB (Member Chartered Institute of Building) and could handle most questions asked, even without the specialist members of the panel, which he organised.

He retired at 50 in 1984 from lecturing and was inducted as the associate minister to Rev Wynne Lewis at Kensington Temple, the leading and largest church in the metropolis. Before this, he was the associate of David Carr, his younger brother, who founded Renewal Christian Centre, Solihull. Whilst living there, he became chairman of the churches – all together in Solihull. He was also the representative for all the Pentecostal churches in the West Midlands on SACRE (Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education) for religious studies in schools. In London, he was appointed leader of all the men's groups for participating churches in the last Billy Graham Crusade held in the metropolis.

As superintendent for Elim, he pastored, taught and managed 55 churches, ministers and their elders making approximately 400 leaders. Coming out of the building industry, he relates to men in particular. Whilst carrying out these anointed callings, he also had time to take his doctorate in ministry, and thus fulfil his overall education having never attended Bible college. He relies on God's Spirit to underline and underscore his teaching. He was, however, the lecturer in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit at Reagents Bible College for Elim for several years.

He has three adult children, his eldest son is a qualified architect and dean of Battersea for the Anglican Church, his second son is a doctor in New Zealand, and his daughter is a fashion designer and consultant specialist in kitchen design. His first wife, Patricia, died in January 2014 and was senior pastor of the church in Harrow. Together they have forged God's kingdom wherever they went, and complemented each other in their passion and desire to see Christ exalted above all other.

Dedication

To faithful pastors who propound the gospel worldwide and who do not shirk to tell the truth in spite of modern pressure to compromise biblical TRUTH; which emanates from an alien society who rejects God and His teaching.

Copyright Information ©

Michael Westwood Carr (2021)

The right of Michael Westwood Carr to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528998390 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528998406 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781528998420 (ePub e-book)

ISBN 9781528998413 (Audiobook)

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First Published (2021)

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Acknowledgement

To those faithful people who weekly attend my church and show a diligent pursuit of God responding to the anointed word which challenges their daily walk with God.

Foreword

My first book¹ was on suffering; the trials, temptations and torments through life, both physical and spiritual. I used my first wife's sickness of forty-seven years as a skeleton on which the flesh of suffering could be hung. However, there are a multitude of further experiences and emotions as we live out our walk with God, in an alien world that rejects His name and teachings. We often struggle in our soul with trust in God during those periods of doubt and waiver in maintaining faithfulness amidst the melting pot of adversity among the small but persistent assaults that afflict our pathway. Our motives and minds trouble us by the split in our affections and like the Apostle Paul, we find that the good we would do we do not and, the injurious we abhor, we sometimes do.

We are often too convoluted and mixed up, troubled by a partial commitment and fluctuating belief. We are human, but perhaps that explains it. Why did Adam in a perfect situation with a flawless wife, sin? Our principles are often tortuous and intricate, causing palpitations in our spiritual heart. I have therefore drawn from my experiences and various situations that have arisen during six decades of pastoral Christian witness, to give some answers to many questions that test our faith. It is an exploration of basic doctrine in lifestyle Christianity. Life is a seminary, teaching us daily in the vacillating pathways of our walk with God. Our theology becomes defined and then redefined, as new truth, or the understanding more fully of existing truth becomes apparent. Making philosophy work in the mundane life is not always easy. Our exact definitions are not always correct, and we find that there are exceptions to almost all rules.

There is no definite order in the writings, but as each subject presents itself, like turning a calendar with daily readings, I pass from one thought to another; one set of circumstances to another. Life is like that, it is often not apparently ordered and neat, but a blur and a bother, with the unexpected arising too often. Situations that are ordered and directed have boundaries bringing peace for we can often cope with that which we know and understand, but the inexplicable often worries us.

God is consistent in His love for us. We, however, may reciprocate hesitantly, often depending on current circumstances. Is this or could this be God's will for me, and overlook or fail to perceive He is after our adulthood. He wants many sons² in glory: for sons, read mature men. For men read men or women. We cannot kick against the sharp point or pricks of the goatherder and God's points can be extraordinarily sharp.

There is also the challenge of a progressive understanding of God's principles in our Christian development and perception of known truth. Thus, I deal with various lifestyle teachings that have emerged over recent decades from myriad teachers all faithfully propounding their ideas of divine truth. Never has there been so much revelation on so many tenets of God's undoubted reality and will. However, some teachings are so wild they finish amongst the unknown celestial planets. That is where they should be left!

Each decade we live we change, and grasp more of God, and as age advances, our knowledge increases in part. A wider understanding, a deeper awareness, a fuller discernment combine to answer some of our predilections that make us the person we are and help us come to terms with the lifestyle we live. That backcloth then interprets God, and His reaction to our mild waywardness and mistakes in interpreting His will becomes clearer. I am emphasising routine Christianity, which I count as normal for people of faith.

In essence, the Christian lifestyle is hunger driven. God puts an ache in our hearts that needs fulfilment; it is like physical hunger, when the body demands food, but this is in the spirit. The Holy Spirit inspires our craving for God. Waking or sleeping our soul and spirit are filled with thoughts of the divine and our worth to worship such divine magnificence.

Therefore, Our Hope

Consider this, we will not find total rest in this life for life itself is full of labour, afflictions and gradual multiplistic infirmities. Mortification can stalk us, reproach can threaten us, and unfulfilled desires distress us. We tend to fidget over disgruntled expectations. Like Jacob, too often we find that we have married Leah not Rachel.³ Not in reality but in the process of living. I am not talking marriage but disappointments. His disillusionment was palpable, and in many areas we have similar discontents of unfulfillment which hovers over us like storm clouds intimidating us, and we are awash with worried restlessness. Will it ever change? Is there hope for the future, will the sun replace the clouds. Can there be a bright horizon? Yes there can be "Now hope does not disappoint, [make ashamed] because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."⁴

God has given us the certainty of sovereign immortality. This teaches us that in whatever state we find ourselves therewith to be content, for God has it in hand, HIS hand of course. God can assuage our sorrows, and brighten our gloom. His companionship can travel with us in the darkest hour; the terror-filled future, and the demanding requiting situation. God's presence is our helmet of salvation, guarding our mind and, changing the metaphor, like an anchor holding us safe in the growing and threatening waters of adversity. He comes with us in the vale of tears and transforms himself on the challenging mountain. Therefore, "There remains …a rest for the people of God."⁵ We, who are saved,⁶ have a hope – we are not ashamed [disappointed] of the present or the dawning future.

Our definition of the word hope has clarity and security about it, not as the world, the Pharisee or the antinominalist explains it. The shaming described Biblically is because of the insufficiency of the hope portrayed. As a Christian we have the clearest warrant, the surest foundation and the purest objective and aim. "For in HIM we live, and move, and have our being;…"⁷ The worldling often does not reach or attain their goal in life, and even if they do their graveside treasure has no merit for their future.

This earthly treasure may speak of disappointment for their desires and anticipations were not accomplished and there is nothing to protect and indemnify their future. God's way of life was disdained, despised and discarded in time, now in death the eternity they wanted, is void. What does the scripture say: "Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."⁸And when we grasp the airy forms, we lose the pleasing dream.⁹ Too late, all is lost. The future is destitution. They manufactured their pleasure whilst on earth and were the envy of many, with their crowned votaries, but now in eternity they fully realise their loss and abject poverty. They had contact with God but not communion.

The Christians hope For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.¹⁰ And, like the prophet of oldFor he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,¹¹Thus, when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.¹² Not only that but his companionship will be a heavenly host –But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,¹³ and also with God in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore¹⁴ What a wonder all this is. However, this is not the end, our hope soars further: Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.¹⁵ We will model HIM. Time for a Hallelujah, I think! Oh YES.

In light of this we take up our cross and follow God in the pilgrim way, it can be no other way. Our crown beckons, and our prize suspends before us, awaiting collection. We have paid the price of divine fellowship here one earth, weathered the mocking of sinful man, rejected temptations of the flesh, and made our objective and aims an eternal truth. We have shrugged off the sluggishness of the flesh and marched in unison with the armies of God against the floodtide of evil. Our sacrifice has been valid, our faithfulness full of joy, our commitment tested to the core. We have counted the cost and voted for eternal values above all other ways and found His love proved repeatedly. We will not, like the Pharisee, walk in self-righteousness, but solely cling to the cross of Jesus. "How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?"¹⁶ Unable to save ourselves we wholly lean on Jesus Name. This is our hope.

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,

Oh, may I then in Him be found,

Clothed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne!

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand.¹⁷

If the following pages read like sermons, they probably are. Just imagine a voice and listen. The chapters are, of course, scripturally based, for God's word is not corrupted, lest it be so, in our interpretation!

---

¹ As Sparks Fly Upward. 2016. Published by AuthorHouse, usually bought from Amazon↩︎

² Hebrews 2:10↩︎

³ Genesis 29:27↩︎

⁴ Rom. 5:5↩︎

⁵ Heb. 4:9↩︎

⁶ Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:38-39; Matthew 19:25-26↩︎

⁷ Acts 17:28↩︎

⁸ Eccles. 1:2↩︎

⁹ Isaac Watts 1674 – 1748. Congregational Minister and hymn writer. Heaven & Earth.↩︎

¹⁰ 2 Cor. 5:1↩︎

¹¹ Hebrews 12:28,29↩︎

¹² 1 Peter 5:4↩︎

¹³ Heb. 12:22↩︎

¹⁴ Psalm 16:11↩︎

¹⁵ 1 John 3:2↩︎

¹⁶ Job 25:4↩︎

¹⁷ My Hope is Built on Nothing Less by Edward Mote, 1797-1874↩︎

Introduction

Anyone for Tennis?

When a young Japanese student was invited for a weekend's riding, he did what any of his countrymen might do; he went out and bought jodhpurs and hunting pink. Unfortunately, when he turned up every one else were wearing jeans and Stetsons. This was not Norfolk, England, it was Nevada, America.

Professor George Fields, who is half Japanese and understands the relative psyche said, It is the basis of an adaptive society, and said further,It may be your first time on a tennis court, but you must have all the right equipment. Surface details are meticulously imitated.¹⁸ Whether a person can ride or play tennis seems to be a minor detail; their appearance has top priority. Most children can imitate what their parents do, that's how they learn, and most adults can copy what their peers do, that's their misfortune. Unfortunately, this is all too often the situation in many Christian lives and churches.

Church singers often perform but not minister. They sound right, look right, the band plays well, all the right keys are pressed, they hit the right notes but the result is often not worship. Usually, once the singer reaches for the microphone, it becomes a performance. If the accompanying message does not exalt Christ and turn the worshippers towards the glory of God, it will direct them to the glory of man. Hype is not holiness. Too much of today's music is soul music not Spirit music. The sad thing is, many do not know the difference!

Christians often look right. They dress, say, play and postulate a stance of discipleship. Small details are modelled, but the ability to ride the horse and play the game is missing. The blessing of God will change people, if it doesn't it wasn't. Renewal is a constant force in the church, or should be since the Ephesus Church, who soon left (not lost) its original fervent love.¹⁹ We have many who pass through the tradition and ceremony but do not have the heart of it. Someone said: It's not if we have it, but whether HE has us; a significant assertion. It is not so much as possessing anything but being possessed by God.

It was a privilege to sit in Bristol Cathedral to see my eldest son being ordained an Anglican Priest with nine others. The bishop laid hands on him and prayed and technically according to their tradition he received the Holy Spirit as a confirmation of that ordained consecration to the priesthood. He was dressed in a white robe signifying purity, and the whole scene was resplendent and sombre. It was a privilege and blessing to be there.

I asked myself two questions in a non-critical manner. Do these candidates for curacy have mere contact or is there communion? The women²⁰ with the alabaster box of ointment who burst through the men in Simon's house to worship, weep and wipe Christ's feet had communion the men watching had but contact. Was this a question of hunting pink or could they really ride? Did they have real contact? Did those nine candidates really receive an anointing to ministry or was it just dressing for tennis? I can't answer that question, only watch with interest and hope and pray for them and the unfolding anticipated lifestyle scenario and fruitfulness. Were some of them sheep trying to be a shepherd? If they could not build a house group, they will not build a church. Time will tell; it usually does.

People say, after being touched by prayerful hands, I've got it; what they mean is that they have been overcome by God – sometimes the Axminster position proves it. It is not an it but a HIM – the Holy Spirit. HE is the third person of the trinity.²¹ They supposedly have got an "It' but in reality, He is a precious person that promotes change which is the basis of the gospel. Does or has change taken place? The will of God is specific. He wants us to fulfil three things: to walk in a divine relationship, to change from glory unto glory and to be a witness to truth as His power energises us. Nothing less and certainly something more. We need to dare and be remarkable by the overwhelming, overcoming and overpowering of the Paraclete in response to faith.

That's what playing the game really is. Do we see and experience change? Can we walk in vertical and horizontal fellowship? Can we witness to Jesus? If we can't, the dress sense is unimportant. God can bless Levi's, clothes do not make a man God does. The verbiage of Pentecostal gab is often an excuse for our lack. Prostrate under God's power Sunday, trembling before temptation and adversity Monday. That's contradictory. It is not how many times you fall over in the spirit, or have a wonderful feeling; it's whether we experience change.²²

Let's hear Professor Fields again: When the Japanese strike a deal it is not commitment – they will work towards it but you cannot expect a result. When dealing with us, God does expect a result. The move of God in renewal is not just an exciting party although it is all of that; renewal means to bring back to normal. Adam in Eden is normal. This means that I overcome by being overcome so that I cannot be overcome. It's not just a riding hat and breeches or owning a tennis racket, it is God's absolute power. Are we experiencing change, can we boast in that at a personal level? Hopefully, the following pages will help in achieving that challenge of spiritual outworking. Being doers not just listeners of the WORD.²³

Goody Two-Shoes

After a lunch visit with a world-travelled minister, our conversation ranged over many topics, not least the main message of churches today. He travels the globe and can therefore vouch for current preaching trends. It seems that more churches are becoming seeker sensitive and consequently pare down their evangelical speech. Terms and words we commonly used are not now in vogue. Sin, the blood of Christ, heaven and hell, sanctification and holiness, and the second coming of Christ, are all almost taboo.

It was therefore with some speculation that I introduced one Sunday the subject of holiness. I called it Dwelling deep in God, not because I was seeker sensitive or being politically correct, a term I abhor, but because I deemed it a better title. The modern church often does not teach it because frequently it does not live it and because it may turn people away, but it could make them Christlike! Preachers are often afraid to preach about it because it is not popular and to do so means to wrap it up in a different vocabulary. It is now called Victorious Christian Living, or Kingdom Living, even Living the Dream which could mean anything but a rose by any other name! As I thought on this subject the phrase Goody two-shoes sprang into mind. I looked it up, and it comes from the title of a rather twee and moralistic nursery tale called The History of Goody Two-Shoes, which is thought to have been written by Oliver Goldsmith, and was published in 1765 by John Newbery, one of the earliest London publishers of children's stories. Goody owned only one shoe. When she was given a pair of them, she was so pleased that she showed them to everybody saying, Two shoes. The phrase now refers to a self-righteous, smugly virtuous person.

In the preaching of this subject one can be accused of being a Goody Two-Shoes because no one should speak on it unless they were holy (or had two shoes), but if we waited to qualify to speak on the subject we would probably never speak. Unfortunately, the neat distinction between good and evil vanished with the horse and buggy,²⁴ and this fact leaves us with a very shadowy area of interpretation. This means that holiness in today's world could be almost impossible to define and therefore almost unattainable.

However, it is abundantly clear that the sin of today becomes acceptable tomorrow, and in a world of luxury, pleasure and moral decay, we sometimes find it pleasurable – that is the worrying thing. We now live in a mixed culture and often embrace a system of values and attitudes accepted by a society that has abandoned God. The world views sexual restraint with suspicion, and has severed it from God's control, but He invented it. It seems, therefore, a reasonably intelligent supposition to accept that He knows what He is talking about. If it's Biblical it should be godly.

Worldliness as opposed to holiness can be defined as adopting the values of a man-made society excluding, either conscious or unconsciously, God's standards. Therefore, we cannot rest on definitive lists of right and wrong, because each culture determines their own walk-in holiness, and lists are the absolute minimum. When people ask about tithing, which I do not think is New Testament teaching, and you tell them 10% is a good start, they breathe a sigh of relief, for that's the minimum, but God may demand the 90%. The average Jew gave 23.3% over three years. Two tithes of 10% and one of 10% over three years – hence 23.3%. If we emphasise that under grace and suggest 24% their eyes go crossed!

Likewise, in holiness, I cannot force my absolutes on you, because God deals with me differently, and that might be the minimum for you. Unfortunately, legalism performs a pattern of behaviour in an attempt to become, or appear, mature and maturity is often interpreted by what we do not do.

As I read my Bible, I see that God is positive and it's not so much what we do not but what we do. I can only lead you to eight principles which, if adhered to and applied, will help your walk-in holiness. To confess a living faith is to acknowledge the need to fight the world, the flesh and the devil, or why walk in The Faith?

Here they are a few pointers to living the holy life:

Does it please The Father?

Does it bring a greater awareness of God?

Does it lead others to God?

Is it wholesome?

Would I be embarrassed if Jesus came?

Does it cause stumbling in my brother/sister?

Is it contrary to scripture?

Does it demean, degrade or damage God's temple (me)?

A Comment: A Moustache

By 1853 there were so many explosive mines laid around Russia that the Allied Fleet supporting the troops in the Crimea was forced to anchor its medical supply ship at Balaklava where it was destroyed by a hurricane on 13 November. The 7,000-ton medical cargo went down to the bottom leaving the British troops to an unimaginable winter of pneumonia, starvation and dysentery.

Florence Nightingale and 38 other nurses