Ronald (Ron) Ricley has worked as an evangelist, a pastor, and a teacher since 1967. For fourteen years, Ron served as the pastor of the Chapel at Lecompton in Lecompton, Kansas. He established a teaching ministry that focused on the Holy Spirit as Teacher. Ron has also ministered in West Africa, Central America, and throughout the United States. In 1997, Ron founded the Word Authority Center for Ministerial Studies while working with pastors in Ghana. The center holds Bible revelation seminars for all Christian ministries.
Excerpt from The Absolutes of God:
The 21st century church of Jesus Christ is divided by opinions and adrift upon a sea of doctrines. Anyone who claims to be an expert or a critic can hold court and sway opinions. Believers have grouped themselves together in clusters of opinion, distrusting anyone who does not see things their way. No one seems to know how to resolve the confusion.
Meanwhile, the world looks on in dismay, waiting for answers that the church does not provide. Religious fervor is not the same thing as Christianity, and substitutes for true faith will never do. As truth gets lost amidst the clamoring voices of conflicting views, little else that is spoken to the world matters. The church is trying to lift up Christ so that men are drawn to Him, but in all the confusion, Jesus is being misrepresented. It is time for a reformation.
Jesus said that the world would know His disciples by the love they have one for another. Instead of displaying love, we Christians have been busy congratulating ourselves for just sitting together in the same room without throwing punches! Have we forgotten Jesus’ High Priestly prayer in John 17, asking that we become one as He and the Father are one? God says that two cannot walk together except they agree (Amos 3:3). God is talking to the church right now through what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:10:
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. (KJV)
This Scripture demands an answer from today’s church. Discussing religion, especially with a vision for reformation, has always been a dangerous thing to do. Believers tend to be very protective of the doctrines they hold dear, and critics who are simply being critical abound. However, true love for the true church of Jesus Christ does not demand silence. Quite the opposite, love demands judgment so that the church can once again be pure. Truth is light, and light dispels darkness. It is necessary to expose the problems so that we can seek God’s answers. Denying that problems exist is no solution.