Travels, governmental policies and languages

 

 

To see the practical reality of the unity of the Local Body of Christ come to fruition in all localities all over the world.

 

The Local Body of Christ consists of all christians within a certain locality. We also believe that it is honoring to God when that becomes a practical reality instead of only the spiritual reality which it is already. We therefore believe that any contact and resultant fellowship between believers within a certain locality is gain and honoring to God provided that none of them is subjected to excommunication. This can be seen as the vision from the Mustard Seed which has a small and seemingly insignificant beginning but which has its inherent power to grow to fruition and become the full expression of the Local Body of Christ for the glory of Jesus Christ. (presently it's just me, but I have faith for more people to come and join this ministry).

 

It consists primarily in 2 things:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My name is Joep de Kraker and I have been born in 1974 in a little village called Dirkshorn, 20km north from the city of Alkmaar, which is situated about 60km northwest from Amsterdam in the Netherlands. We are a happy family of four with one 6 year older brother. I have moved around quite a bit. Within the country as well as abroad. I lived in Spain for three months. Half a year in Greece/Cyprus and 2 years in Great Britain.

 

Starting at primary school with international draughts I became 4th of the Netherlands at 15 years of age with blitz draughts in the age category 12-15. After finishing high school I went to college of music to study classical guitar. After many years of study I have come to the point that I sooner or later expect to start giving concerts. I have given up on international draughts already for years but in recent years I have become an enthousiastic gamer being succesfull in PC rally games namely Rally Championship 2000 and Richard Burns. Only last year a dream came true as I became member of a tennis club. We will see how this will develop overtime.

 

Some miscellaneous other parts of my life include my driving licence which I only got in 2008. Two visits to China which country means a lot to me. A beautiful golden ring with a diamond at its centre which serves both as a reminder and a witness to the beauty of the Lord Jesus who lives in me. I got numerous friends throughout life so far. Many people who know me especially in The Netherlands find me a fun guy to be with. Numerous attempts at a romantic relationship but as yet (July 2009) never been succesfull in that. I have a couple of times cycled over 200km on one day with a personal record of 268km and walked once 60km on one day. Listening music (especially classical music and U2). Reading children's novels from the British author Enid Blyton and the Dutch author Willy van der Heide (Bob Evers serial). One of the most special holidays I ever had was with my brother when we crossed 30km of the Scottish Highlands on foot. We took two days for it. The first day there were no roads or public foothpaths and we struck up our tent in the middle of nowhere near to a river. We took its water to fill our bottles. It was a huge adventure and the scenery was fantastic.

 

Several christian subjects have caught my attention over the years including (but not limited) cellchurch, gifts of the Spirit, predestination, Trinity, sexuality, endtime and theomatics (mathematical proof of the Bible and a prime exegetical tool for symbolism). Altogether in a different category are the fruits of the Spirit namely love, humbleness and suffering which have played and continue to play an important role in my life.

 

I have been a member of a number of Church denominations/groups including Dutch Reformed Church in all three wings(fundamental, confessional and liberal), Baptist Church, Anglican Church, Evangelical Church, Victory Outreach, Assemblies of God, Charismatic Church and a Charismatic Intergenerational Cellchurch to name the most important ones from the past. On top of that I have been a visitor to a great many kind of Churches including Roman Catholic Church, Quakers, Salvation Army, Greek Orthodox Church and the Christian sects Christian Science (that's not Scientology Church), Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormon Church and The Family International (the Family) aka Children of God.

 

For sake of Christian Fellowship with the Church I am part of though presently not coming to the meetings due to problems related to my view on sexuality (July 2009) and because of my own conscience, I have broken all ties with the Family due to child abuse and deception. This has been a very unusual step for me to take and I hope that things will change for the better. What is very difficult and part of the reason of this website is to seperate facts from fiction. As for the Family they claim to have repented of the child abuse but they have been very deceptive and it's therefore cause to doubt their present attitude. To end with a positive note: What is admirable about them is their personality and Christlike behaviour (at least on the outside), their present public literature and flexibility to change the way they organize themselves. The very step to severe all ties with somebody would have been normally a very difficult and unusual thing for me to do but is a million times more difficult because of who they are (The Family)and what this ministry Local Body of Christ is all about. I take consolation in the fact that whenever I would happen to come by chance in contact with anybody of them through this ministry, the contact would be open because the purpose of that contact is to bring that person within fellowship with believers within that person's locality. Whether other christians within that locality should want to be in fellowship with that person isn't mine to decide (normally) but will be in most cases the decision of the Local Body of Christ (not this ministry itself but the goal of this ministry).

 

Last but not least I have been part of a kind of housechurch for the last seven years. Actually we aren't a housechurch but believe to follow the pattern of the Early Church in which Churches didn't have names but were simply addressed to as the Church at Ephesus, Rome and Antioch etc. Also we believe to follow the Early Church's pattern of leadership in having an external worker and not internal leadership apart from functional elders whom we believe to come up organically over the years. Our focus is the Lord Jesus in all matters of Church and it has been an amazing ride over the last seven years. I have searched for years for the right kind of Church and I thought to have found it seven years ago. The theory of this Church I was fully supportive of only until recently. Its practise not. It's practise was a big part of the reason of this website and the ministry I have started as of July 2009. The first four months July through to Octobre would serve as a test in which I would test this ministry in four countries (Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland and France) and see what the fruit would be of this website, the newsletter and the business cards which I have ordered. Though officially it is a test, I speak from my heart when I say that I believe that I finally have started with my life's work i.e. the unity of the Church expressed in the Local Church or, as this website is called, the Local Body of Christ. As of September 2009 I have done some ministry in Belgium, England, Wales and Scotland and have come to some new viewpoints on church unity. This website has therefore been transformed to come in line with my new viewpoints. As for my personal involvement with the Local Church, my situation should serve as an example. It's impossible for me to fellowship right now with all christians within my locality as the divisiveness about doctrines and preferences causes christians here as almost everywhere else to meet mainly/only with those who have the same viewpoints. Therefore I have to compromise which may take different forms for different people. My form of compromise is to see myself still as part of this group of christians with whom I already have met for the last seven years.