Layering In the Two

Well, God had both concepts placed in the same place. He had me back in the fold and he had me naked.

Leading me to water was simple, now God had to make me drink, as the proverb goes. He had to get me involved in a ministry to the nudist community. It had to be something my wife and I would be interested in. It had to be part of His plan for us. And, it had to be easy enough for this very inexperienced person to handle.

Some time earlier, I began to read the rec.nude Uesgroup on the internet. Among the members was a guy who most of us older nudists remember, Cheef. He was the owner and creator of www.cheef.com. He also sponsored a Christian Nudist Marriage Retreat. After some discussion, my wife and I agreed to attend. We ended up attending every year until the retreat had run its course.

In the next few years, I kept posting and reading many newsgroups and message boards dealing with Christian nudism.

Often, the idea of gathering together and meeting face-to-face came up in the discussions. some suggested meeting at Cypress Cove. Others suggested more western locations. The one constant note heard in each discussion was that no one took charge and arranged for the meeting. Usually, when I saw a thread like that, I would grumble under my breath about the lack of leadership and go on. Finally, on Rick and Julie's list and on a whim, I offered to arrange for the gathering. The only thing I asked was for someone to help. No one did. It came up again, and I felt safe in offering to arrange one, knowing no one would offer to help and I would not have to set this up.

God has an unusual fascination with three's. If you notice most of His work is in three's. This was no exception. When the thread rolled around again, I boldly made the statement that if someone, anyone, would volunteer to help, I would set up the meeting. Without fear or panic, I sent the posting along and sat back, waiting for a mountain of silence on the subject. In the blank white space of my emails, however, came a single solitary response from a guy named Trailscout. "I'll help."

Now was the time of my great trepidation, fear, and knee-knocking panic. Someone had actually agreed to help. Not just someone, but someone who answered on the list where everyone in the group knew he had volunteered. I was stuck! I had to arrange for this gathering.

Have I mentioned to you that I hadn't yet told my wife about all this? That night, my wife and I discussed the problems involved with such an undertaking and the help we needed. After making a decision to continue, we started making a list of items logistical problems to address and a list of other friends that might want to help.

I can't tell you how much Trailscout has been a part of building this program. Not only was he the first, he was one of the most supportive. Over the next post, we will delve into this gathering. Although it wasn't the first Christian nudist gathering, it has been the longest lasting. But that is for the next posting.

Nudist Training

I've talked about my Christian training because I believe that there are many people out there today who are training for similar tasks and will find themselves with similar training techniques. It was a total surprise to me when I finally found out why God had been schooling me. But this was only half of the training I was to get. Becoming a nudist is not an easy task and God had to prepare me AND my wife for such a task.

For me, it was simple. He built me so that clothes just don't hang on me. My pants fall off, My shirts don't stay tucked. I don't even like clothes. If you were to build a typical nudist, you would want to start with an Allen model and then leave it alone.

For my wife, the process wasn't as simple. In my first book, I tell the story of Carey's rise to nudism. She started out as a textile. She wore clothes to bed. She wore clothes to the store. She liked clothes. Clothes fit her. I think she even wore clothes in the shower, but I can't prove it. Finding a husband who thought clothes were a silly waste of time proved to be a training ground for her.
Our first discussion about going to a nudist park resulted in a long and specific talk about signals, ones that couples use to say, "I'm not comfortable and if you are not in the car once I get it started, you will walk home." She did, however, agree to go. It was way out of her comfort zone and stretched the level of trust between us.

Trust was the deciding factor. She knew I would not lead her to a place where I would hurt her or our marriage. She knew I loved her and believed with all her heart that I would not cheat on her. Believed used here is a miscommunication. She often laughs at the prospect of me cheating on her. She knows me too well. I wouldn't. She knew I wouldn't and it was not a decision she had to worry about.

What she had to worry about was thirty years of upbringing that said good girls keep their clothes on. Good girls don't. They don't have sex before marriage. They don't take their clothes off in public. They don't drink, smoke, or run around with men. While most of these are admirable qualities, nudity has been placed in this group without justification.

When the day to go to the park finally arrived, I was excited. Carey was nervous, but ready to go. The drive down gave us time to work on our nerves and to contemplate what we expected to find. Once the gate opened and we saw the place, it seemed somewhat of a let-down. It was clean, organized, and quiet. Quiet, I say. Quiet. People sat around the pool reading or napping. Others wandered around the park talking quietly. Then there were the older people who were just peacefully watching the other people doing quiet things.

Not that this was bad, but I had expected there to be naked people frolicking all over the park, running and jumping, and of course, prancing. We have all heard the term, prancing naked. Surely this must be some place where people prance naked. I couldn't understand why everyone was just sitting there. As we undressed at the car, I looked over at my wife to see how she was doing. She was quietly undressing and absorbing the atmosphere.

You see, quiet was what she wanted. Quiet was what I needed. Had there been prancing and frolicking, Carey would have bolted out of the gate, car, my clothes, and all.

That day, God built a nudist couple, one for which he had plans.

post script: You may ask about our son. God had that covered, too. For children, all you need is a pool and a bunch of other screaming children.

Learning to Lead

In the midst of deepening my knowledge of the Bible, the complications of theory and theology, our pastor left the church. Being a pastor's son, I knew what it was like from the other side. You pack up, stow your stuff in boxes, and make new friends that will last until it is time to move again. I did not know anything about what it was like from the church's standpoint.

As an observer to the process, I got to learn much about the process. I saw first hand the struggle to figure out what type of pastor the church wanted. It is often exactly opposite from what they actually need. Nothing in the process is foolproof. I saw the mistakes being made clearly. But it was not my place to worry about this.

Several months into the process, I was appointed the position of Moderator of the business meetings. What I did was keep control of the business meeting and bring order to the process of doing business. I took this job seriously. I wanted there to be no bickering, back biting, or other problems that sometimes arise in churches. I wanted a Christ-like atmosphere in conducting our affairs. This was actually very easy. The church was fairly congenial, mostly in step with one another, and full of hope for the future. Most of the votes didn't even have an opposition. The process was almost flawless.


Except for the pastor selection.

Churches don't always do well when they lose a leader. They begin to bleed members. The void begins a power struggle. The whole process might lead to a collapse of a young, unprepared church. Fortunately, most churches survive the whole process no worse for wear. They pull together to make the best of a situation.


Once the pastor entered the ministry field, things stopped moving as smoothly. No, there were no fights, stabbings or gun play. We still had little opposition in the business meetings, but the ill feelings built in the church. The pastor left after only a matter of months.


Running a Church

With the void in the leadership roll, a small committee was formed. Known as the Administration Committee, we were charged with handling the needs of the church normally handled by the pastor until one could be found, finding someone to lead the services until a pastor could be named, and be available for any emergencies that might arise. AS you might have guessed, the other people on the Administration Team were two of the missionaries that had been in the class with me those few years ago. The process had come full circle and I was now operating with them as an equal.

Well, not really. They had done this many times and looked at the job as a chore that needed doing. Not that they didn't do the chore willingly and with great joy, but it was simply old hat to them. For me, however, it was all new.

As I mentioned earlier, I am the son of a pastor. I knew the inside of a pastor's family and the headaches and problems that come from leading a church. So from a small corner of my mind, the place I try to hide all the stuff I really would rather not re-live, I dragged out what knowledge I had in order to be a productive member of this group. They may have had more experience, but I was going to make up for that with enthusiasm and perseverance.

continued tomorrow.

Preparation for Ministry

Lay ministers are unique people in that they are not formally trained, as in seminary and other post secondary schooling. They take their training where they can get it. I am no exception. I learned about the work by reading and studying, and by listening to those people who had learned from normal channels.

One great learning experience came in the form of a particular Sunday School class. When my wife and I had been attending a church for a while, we decided God had planted us there. Well, actually my wife decided God had planted us there, and we joined. Shortly there after, my wife began to teach a Sunday School class of toddlers. Needing a place to sit for Sunday School time period, I chose a class and sat in.

I hadn't thought much about my choice, only to reason which one was closer to the smoking door and which one might be small enough that I would not have to worry about being called on for anything. Classes this small don't have class picnics or do any mission work.

The choice was fortunate in that in the class were three theological doctors and me. Out of the four people, three had PdD's in theology, seminary training from well known Baptist institutes, and were returned missionaries from foreign lands. These were people well versed in starting churches, being pastors, and scripture. I had my own bible college placed before me.

Each Sunday, the class held large discussions of topics ranging from the origin of the world to who wrote the books of the law. Philosophical questions were dissected like frogs, measured prodded and poked. Subjects that seemed to confrontational to discuss in public were regularly batted about without any animosity. I spent many hours during the week reading the bible just to keep up with the discussion. I studied, not because I thought it prudent, but because I hate to out of touch with any discussion. I wanted, no needed, to be part of this process.

After the first year, one of our members moved on. And then there were two doctors and me. His leaving concerned me. I thought the whole wonderful experience was over. We would sink into those old time Sunday School classes we all dread and avoid. I was trapped. We no longer had that three legged chair for me to sit in. It was just a two legged chair. We all know how that works. I went anyway. I had to do something to fill the time my wife was teaching the toddlers and while my son went to his class.

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the class. God grabbed me by the leg and dragged me to His proverbial lathe. He spun me, tossed me, and cut some crude but functional grooves into me. I became a rough and ugly chair leg. I needed grooming. I needed smoothing. I needed polishing. But, for once in my life, I was steady enough to support a young Christian in our group.

I spent a year in that class while the two guys left began to fine tune my knowledge. They began to feed me more than meat, they fed me rich desserts. With the basics learned, they drilled me on some of the finer details of Christian life and how to pour out what I had learned. As the second year ended, I looked much like the other two legs, just less seasoned and inexperienced.

The third and last year, I found myself surrounded by other people. I no longer had the luxury of being the only student. The room was filled with people similar to me when I entered the group. we lost another leg to a class who needed a teacher, leaving us with just the one professional. To my great surprise and joy, he brought his wife into the teaching. for the first time in my life, I was being taught about Christ from a female perspective. I saw the side of Christ I always missed. It was like adding depth to my view of Christ. I could always see the male side. I had the vision of what a guy thinks of Christ, but seeing God from a woman's perspective allowed me to visualize God's whole experience.

Now, do I think these guys planned this? I don't know. I never asked. you know, the whole horse's teeth thing. Do I think God planned it? You betcha! Nothing could have prepared me more for my future jobs than the training I got from these four people, people who today don't fathom their involvement.

preparation continued next time.

Nudism

One of the obstacles we encounter often on the internet is Christians who believe nudism is wrong. Often, they cite passages which have nothing to do with nudism or being naked or they offer the stumbling block scenario, where being naked might entice a fellow Christian to sin. Such argument have no basis in Christian theology and only add to the problems of church unity.

The bible is actually silent on social nudity, a fact that is not surprising. Common, everyday nudity during the Jewish era was, how do you say, common and ordinary. It would the same as a modern day writer noting that people wear a hair net while working at a food service location. With clothing so expensive and spare clothing not available to the normal person, many worked naked to preserve their investment in clothing.

The largest argument against nudism comes from Genesis. Critics argue that when Adam fell from grace, God clothed them and cast them out. They argue that since God hid their bodies from view, He must want all of us to do the same.

I offer Lot's wife to suggest the fallacy in this logic. If you remember, when Lot's wife disobeyed God and looked back, she turned into a pillar of salt. Following our previous argument, we should also cover ourselves in salt. Every morning, we should stand up and apply salt to our entire bodies before leaving for work.

You can see the fallacy in that argument, but there is actually more to the story of Adam and Eve's fall than we mentioned. In Genesis 3: 7, we see that Adam and Eve dressed themselves in clothes of leaves.

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."

Later, in verse 8, God is heard walking in the garden and the two hid from Him in the garden among the leaves of the trees and bushes.

"8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden."


Adam and Eve dressed themselves, not God. In fact it was the clothes they wore that let God know they had done wrong.

"And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

God had no problem with their nudity. Nudity only became a problem when Adam and Eve gained the knowledge of those things that are both good and evil before they were ready to accept those truths.

As you know, later, as He was expelling the couple from the garden, He killed an animal and placed the skin upon them. It is interesting to note that the animal was probably an animal that Adam named, someone he knew. I am sure this forced home the idea that sin was wrong. In any event, it placed Adam and Eve with clothing more substantial than what they had made for themselves. Entering into a world with briers, rocks and thorns, they needed something more substantial than leaves and twine to protect their bodies. It is interesting to note that God did not clothe them completely. The word for clothing used means belt or apron. This would have covered the parts of their body most closely aligned with briers and thorns.

So what about the early knowledge we had of both Good and Evil? In Moses time, we received the Law, a written set of right and wrong. They knew what was right and wrong and with the knowledge of good and evil, we were capable of knowing what to do and what not to do. We matured. Today, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. Remember, the old law did not pass away, but today we have a fulfilled law in the form of a helper to guide us. We are now ready for that knowledge and are endowed by our Creator with the ability to know good and evil and how to negotiate both.

If we remove the places where nakedness means sex and the places where naked means poor or doing without, then the bible only talks about being nude in a good light.

With all of this, being naked socially can only be expressed as ordinary without the understanding that it is permissible for those that God chose without there being some indication that being nude is somehow more beneficial than being clothed. After all, if both are equally okay, why bother with the controversy?

Strangely enough, we have such information in the Bible, itself. Remember in the first post we talked about Isaiah walking naked among the Jews for three years naked? During the first century BC and the first century AD, Jews bathed as a custom and a required ritual. Being ceremonially clean was important to them. We rarely talk about the baths of Jerusalem or the baptisms done by John the Baptist in the light of people being naked socially, but that is precisely what occurred.

Baptisms during the century before Christ's birth were done in running water to cleanse the body and prepare a person for ministry. Following the rules for cleansing Aaron in Leviticus, the candidate would be led to the water's edge, he would remove his clothing and go down into the water where he would be ceremonially cleansed for his sins. It was a part of getting forgiveness from God. This is precisely what Jesus did before entering into His ministry for us.

After Christ's death and resurrection, Christian baptisms followed roughly the same
pattern. A candidate would be dressed in a dark robe and led to the water. He would remove his robe and go down into the water naked. The baptist, also naked along with the congregation gathered in the water, would pour water over the candidate three times. As he was led out of the water, the candidate would be dressed in a linen cloth of white to symbolize becoming cleansed and ready for ministry.

The early church knew something we have lost today. The knew that worshiping naked can lead you closer to God. I often find myself praying while naked and finding the presence of the Holy Spirit stronger being allowed to flow without the restrictions of man-made items.

Now, nudism is not for everyone. Those that find God has not called you to this ministry might just consider this similar to speaking in tongues. Not everyone will speak in tongues. That does not mean that they are not in-dwelled with the Holy Spirit. But those who are called to this ministry are not allowed to shirk their duties. Nor are Christians allowed to stop this ministry.

God Bless.

Where to Begin

So, we begin our walk.

I never know where to begin a conversation about the church. Do I start at the moment I found Christ lurking behind me waiting for me to mature as a Christian? Do I start with the moment I realized I would be a leader in a movement of Christians in the nudist world? Or where the Holy Spirit began to work in my life to train me for my mission.

Maybe an overview will suffice. I was born into a Christian family with a minister for a father. I grew up with all the love and care a person could want. As you know, this is a perfect recipe for someone like me to go astray. I found myself at age 29 a father, a husband, and a productive member of society, but not a Christian.

Oh, I claimed to be a Christian. I knew there was a God. what I didn't know was there was ABBA, the Father, His Son, and a Spirit sent to care and love me. I was clueless to the ways of a Christian life. Thankfully, I found them just behind the little small voice that whispered in my ear from time to time. In my wonderful discovery, I also found a four foot, eleven inch tall woman who had been sleeping next to me for many years. I renewed my life with my wife. I finally had a complete life.

Carey and I began building our existence around a small church which met in a school. Having only a few families as members, it was a good place to become educated about the process for building a church. Through eight years of fun, struggle, things done right, and things done wrong, we came out of this experience with a great deal of knowledge about the inner workings of the church.

The good news is that we knew how a church functioned. The bad news is that we knew how a church functioned. Churches have rules and activities that help the church grow and function. They also have rules and functions that cause dissension and cause fractures in the body of the church. The more I learned about what the church did, the more I felt the need to change how our church was functioning. As with all heavy objects, they would not budge. In time, God made it clear our time was finished at the church and we needed to move on. So we did.

My wife and I are nudists. We wear clothes when appropriate, when it is cold out, or when clothing oneself is the prudent thing to do. We had visited the church service at our local nudist park on many occasions, and decided to make this church our temporary home until we could find a suitable locations to settle in and begin the new ministry. Frankly, I suspected we make them our home after a couple of weeks, but my wife was not sure.

After a couple of years sitting in the back of the service and finding a place to rest, God called us out of the "Sit, Soak, and Sour" pew in the back and move us to the front of church business. He asked that I begin getting ready for a time when I would lead the services and to start building the chapel into a functioning church.

You might ask what the difference is. A chapel service is a service designed to deliver a worship time for a group of people. It does not serve the purpose of a church. It simply offers a service time to worship and pray. A church is a community of Christians who gather together to forward the Word of God. They meld into a group with a purpose. With this goal in mind and through the direction of the Holy Spirit, my wife and I joined with another couple, John and Judy, and began to build a functioning church in the middle of a nudist resort.

Over the next few posts, I will elaborate more on our journey to this ministry. I will also add a few current events to the posts so that we won't get caught up in "let's remember."

One of my purposes for writing this blog is to enlighten Christian organizations to our struggles and our successes. I feel a great disconnection to the Christian world because of the lack of acceptance of my peers in other Christian groups. The fact that we need a church in a nudist park is a testament against the churches surrounding the nudist resorts and parks.

If you are a pastor or church leader and have found us, I ask that you continue to read about our work, offer suggestions where you see them, and to keep us in your prayers daily. The comment section is open to everyone and we hope this will be a place for lively discussions and those discussions would be discussions Christ would be proud of.

till next time...

Not For Me!

Walking Naked For Christ! This only happens to Old Testament prophets. God only requires us to do things like pray, read the bible, and sit in the back row of church. Nothing in the rules I was living by mentioned anything about becoming a part of a ministry team at a nudist church.

But God has a way of taking a normal existence and turning their world upside-down. Here I was, content to sit in that small church and heckle the pastor, evoking a new and most specific frown from both the pastor and my wife. God's plan, a plan I object to vehemently, contained many good and precious ideas for reviving the church and it didn't include the present pastor.

Before we get too far in this discussion, I want to point out that this request from God has precedence. In Isaiah, God commands Isaiah to remove his clothes and preach to the people of Israel. He walked in his ministry for three years naked as a statement to God's people to repent and leave their evil ways.

I never considered myself to be a prophet. My gifts seem to lie in the apostle category. So finding a place in my world to be a nudist pastor didn't seem to be such a great idea.

God, however, had been grooming me for this position for some time. My family had been nudists for years. At our home, nudity was the normal situation. I was working with several groups learning the business of a church. Finally, God opened the door for my wife and I to become members of a nudist resort near our homes where we would finally begin our mission.

This blog is about the struggles, fun, and drama of being, "Naked For God."