Q: What was the motive in writing
this story, Caryn?
• I wanted to portray a born-again
Christian that is a person of God, but that is
viewing everything as spiritual warfare – even his
own wife had become his enemy, and even prayer
was used to attack, wound, or kill. But this view of
spiritual warfare, while perhaps partially true, is
certainly not the view of a mature servant of God.
Q: But aren’t the servants of God the warriors of
Christ? And doesn’t “righteousness exalt a
nation”?
• Yes, warriors of Christ by any name are
servants of God. But they “fight” against
everything they perceive as evil, and show no
mercy. There is another group of servants of God
that I call “BridgeMakers” – they perceive evil and
good, but they focus on sharing love with “the just
and the unjust” and with “the evil and the good.”
• A “Fighter” mindset does not allow a person
to live Matthew Chapter 5, where Jesus described
the distinctives of a Christian: “If someone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn to him the left also; if
someone orders you to carry a burden one mile,
carry it two; if someone sues you in court for your
tunic, give him your cloak as well.”
• The “BridgeMaker” mindset allows a person
to suffer personal insult, to be abused twice over,
and to surrender a court case – because the
BridgeMaker is doing all he or she can to help their
opponent build their life ever more securely on the
rock of Christ.
• The “righteousness that exalts a nation” is
not the “no mercy” righteousness of the proud
Fighter. But a nation is exalted when the mercy of
a BridgeMaker is shown to a wounded person.
The Fighter triumphs in “justice”; but a
BridgeMaker hears the words of the Bible:
“Judgment without mercy will be shown to any
that have not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over
judgment!”
Q: But aren’t we to preach the Word of God to the
“wounded”? Isn’t preaching the best form of love
possible? Isn’t even a rebuke a form of love?
• When Jesus wanted to redefine “love your
neighbor as yourself” Jesus did not describe a
Fighter at all, but discussed a man that was a
reject of Jewish society that found a wounded Jew
left for dead. That rejected man would not avoid
the wounded man, but got his hands bloody and
dirty by “pouring in oil and wine” into all the
wounds. He gave time and companionship, and
even ensured another man (an “inn keeper”)
would watch over the wounded man. Today, we
call those words of Jesus “The Parable of the Good
Samaritan”.
• A “Fighter” will kick insults into the face of a
transsexual, refuse to talk to the transsexual, and
do everything possible to avoid the transsexual --
even though avoidance is taught to be sin in the
Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Fighter
preaches the Word of God as the wounded body
lays in front of him… the Fighter cannot conceive of
the gentleness that is needed when pouring in “oil
and wine”. The Fighter seeks no “third party”, and
cannot conceive of deep wounds that need a third
party to intervene. The Fighter is therefore not a
mature servant of God, even if his title is Deacon,
Elder, or Pastor.
Q: In your story, the main weapon of the Fighter
was “prayer”, which he used as a sword. Why did
you choose that analogy?
• A warrior is a fighter and cannot see the
opportunities for touching the wounded, and
helping to heal them. A Fighter will even use
intercessory prayer as a weapon to strike out at
opponents. Prayer then confirms the Fighter’s
view of the world.
• A “BridgeMaker” is a far different type of
Christian – the BridgeMaker prays and then works
upon building a bridge over to the very people that
the Fighter wishes to avoid. Pray is for strength to
become involved, to give the gentle “oil” of comfort
and “wine” of God’s word, to know when and
where to involve a third-party.
• Ask yourself this: “Do you pray for your gay
neighbors OR do you pray and then invite them
over for coffee and getting to know each other?”
The first is the mark of a Fighter; the second is the
mark of a BridgeMaker
Q: Why did you seem to emphasize sexual “lust”
during the battle with the spider-leech? Isn’t that
a bit extreme for a book directed towards
Christians?
• I emphasized “unrestrained lust”, that is, lust
without limits, the drive to take without
permission. And the spider-leech was “reflective”
of Fighter’s need to have no limits.
• Fighters can desire unrestrained lust for
power, for promotion within a church hierarchy,
and/or for the status of being called “Elder” or
“Pastor”. The sexual part of the analogy was not
the focus, really. I was much more concerned
about showing how a Fighter mindset doesn’t even
allow him to realize how much lust he has for
power, promotion, and status. And also wanted to
show how much the Fighter mindset desires
darkness to hide within – and churches are a
wonderful place for Fighters to hide within.
Q: So, Caryn, you are saying that this short e-book
was about a Christian that needed to mature?
• Fighter desperately needed to mature and
was very torn over the idea of maturing. Fighter
had fallen in love with battle, armor, and his own
wounds. Even the Lion – an analogy of Jesus
Christ – wanted Fighter to mature.
• But maturing is not easy. In the story, I have
a “root of bitterness” kill Fighter’s dreams, and a
depression that drives Fighter towards death –
these are the tools that goad Fighter into maturing.
• In reality, I have seen pastors that are
“Fighters”, and perceived that God calls them to
become “BridgeMakers”. They have instead
refused the calling of God to become a mature
servant – they now worship the fight, and not the
Giver of Mercy. And I have watched their church
membership dwindle to nothing, depression haunt
them, and bitterness grow and poison their
ministry. Some even claim that Satan is deceiving
the neighborhood into not coming to their church –
in reality, God is driving the pastor into learning a
new paradigm.
• You see, these disasters are so necessary to
drive the Fighter away from his paradigm of simple
spiritual warfare and to lure the Fighter into a life
of making bridges to those are less than lovely to
him.
• Jesus said, “When you give a feast, call the
poor, the blind, the lame, and the halt to your
feast….” Only someone with the heart of a
“BridgeMaker” can see the wisdom in those
words.
Q: Are you working on another manuscript for the
Chronicles of FadingEarth series?
• Yes, but it has been very slow. My immediate
next efforts are being spent editing a friend’s e-
book tentatively titled, “Why This Church Must
Die”. In his book, he documents the changes of
heart that are needed for a church to experience
revival. My next work on the FadingEarth series is
half-finished, and will probably be posted on my
site in mid or late 2007.
(c) Copyright Caryn LeMur 2006, 2007
this story, Caryn?
• I wanted to portray a born-again
Christian that is a person of God, but that is
viewing everything as spiritual warfare – even his
own wife had become his enemy, and even prayer
was used to attack, wound, or kill. But this view of
spiritual warfare, while perhaps partially true, is
certainly not the view of a mature servant of God.
Q: But aren’t the servants of God the warriors of
Christ? And doesn’t “righteousness exalt a
nation”?
• Yes, warriors of Christ by any name are
servants of God. But they “fight” against
everything they perceive as evil, and show no
mercy. There is another group of servants of God
that I call “BridgeMakers” – they perceive evil and
good, but they focus on sharing love with “the just
and the unjust” and with “the evil and the good.”
• A “Fighter” mindset does not allow a person
to live Matthew Chapter 5, where Jesus described
the distinctives of a Christian: “If someone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn to him the left also; if
someone orders you to carry a burden one mile,
carry it two; if someone sues you in court for your
tunic, give him your cloak as well.”
• The “BridgeMaker” mindset allows a person
to suffer personal insult, to be abused twice over,
and to surrender a court case – because the
BridgeMaker is doing all he or she can to help their
opponent build their life ever more securely on the
rock of Christ.
• The “righteousness that exalts a nation” is
not the “no mercy” righteousness of the proud
Fighter. But a nation is exalted when the mercy of
a BridgeMaker is shown to a wounded person.
The Fighter triumphs in “justice”; but a
BridgeMaker hears the words of the Bible:
“Judgment without mercy will be shown to any
that have not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over
judgment!”
Q: But aren’t we to preach the Word of God to the
“wounded”? Isn’t preaching the best form of love
possible? Isn’t even a rebuke a form of love?
• When Jesus wanted to redefine “love your
neighbor as yourself” Jesus did not describe a
Fighter at all, but discussed a man that was a
reject of Jewish society that found a wounded Jew
left for dead. That rejected man would not avoid
the wounded man, but got his hands bloody and
dirty by “pouring in oil and wine” into all the
wounds. He gave time and companionship, and
even ensured another man (an “inn keeper”)
would watch over the wounded man. Today, we
call those words of Jesus “The Parable of the Good
Samaritan”.
• A “Fighter” will kick insults into the face of a
transsexual, refuse to talk to the transsexual, and
do everything possible to avoid the transsexual --
even though avoidance is taught to be sin in the
Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Fighter
preaches the Word of God as the wounded body
lays in front of him… the Fighter cannot conceive of
the gentleness that is needed when pouring in “oil
and wine”. The Fighter seeks no “third party”, and
cannot conceive of deep wounds that need a third
party to intervene. The Fighter is therefore not a
mature servant of God, even if his title is Deacon,
Elder, or Pastor.
Q: In your story, the main weapon of the Fighter
was “prayer”, which he used as a sword. Why did
you choose that analogy?
• A warrior is a fighter and cannot see the
opportunities for touching the wounded, and
helping to heal them. A Fighter will even use
intercessory prayer as a weapon to strike out at
opponents. Prayer then confirms the Fighter’s
view of the world.
• A “BridgeMaker” is a far different type of
Christian – the BridgeMaker prays and then works
upon building a bridge over to the very people that
the Fighter wishes to avoid. Pray is for strength to
become involved, to give the gentle “oil” of comfort
and “wine” of God’s word, to know when and
where to involve a third-party.
• Ask yourself this: “Do you pray for your gay
neighbors OR do you pray and then invite them
over for coffee and getting to know each other?”
The first is the mark of a Fighter; the second is the
mark of a BridgeMaker
Q: Why did you seem to emphasize sexual “lust”
during the battle with the spider-leech? Isn’t that
a bit extreme for a book directed towards
Christians?
• I emphasized “unrestrained lust”, that is, lust
without limits, the drive to take without
permission. And the spider-leech was “reflective”
of Fighter’s need to have no limits.
• Fighters can desire unrestrained lust for
power, for promotion within a church hierarchy,
and/or for the status of being called “Elder” or
“Pastor”. The sexual part of the analogy was not
the focus, really. I was much more concerned
about showing how a Fighter mindset doesn’t even
allow him to realize how much lust he has for
power, promotion, and status. And also wanted to
show how much the Fighter mindset desires
darkness to hide within – and churches are a
wonderful place for Fighters to hide within.
Q: So, Caryn, you are saying that this short e-book
was about a Christian that needed to mature?
• Fighter desperately needed to mature and
was very torn over the idea of maturing. Fighter
had fallen in love with battle, armor, and his own
wounds. Even the Lion – an analogy of Jesus
Christ – wanted Fighter to mature.
• But maturing is not easy. In the story, I have
a “root of bitterness” kill Fighter’s dreams, and a
depression that drives Fighter towards death –
these are the tools that goad Fighter into maturing.
• In reality, I have seen pastors that are
“Fighters”, and perceived that God calls them to
become “BridgeMakers”. They have instead
refused the calling of God to become a mature
servant – they now worship the fight, and not the
Giver of Mercy. And I have watched their church
membership dwindle to nothing, depression haunt
them, and bitterness grow and poison their
ministry. Some even claim that Satan is deceiving
the neighborhood into not coming to their church –
in reality, God is driving the pastor into learning a
new paradigm.
• You see, these disasters are so necessary to
drive the Fighter away from his paradigm of simple
spiritual warfare and to lure the Fighter into a life
of making bridges to those are less than lovely to
him.
• Jesus said, “When you give a feast, call the
poor, the blind, the lame, and the halt to your
feast….” Only someone with the heart of a
“BridgeMaker” can see the wisdom in those
words.
Q: Are you working on another manuscript for the
Chronicles of FadingEarth series?
• Yes, but it has been very slow. My immediate
next efforts are being spent editing a friend’s e-
book tentatively titled, “Why This Church Must
Die”. In his book, he documents the changes of
heart that are needed for a church to experience
revival. My next work on the FadingEarth series is
half-finished, and will probably be posted on my
site in mid or late 2007.
(c) Copyright Caryn LeMur 2006, 2007
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| The Last Days of a Man Named Fighter A Short Interview |