Breaking the Hex (#607)
"Did someone put a hex on you?" Paul asked the Galatians, because they had forsaken the work of the Spirit to try to achieve spiritual maturity by human effort. They had abandoned the Gospel found themselves ensnared again in religious obligation. The Fields Brothers, Jeff and Roger have written a new book called Breaking the Hex: Life with God After the Cross Killed Religion, and Jeff joins Wayne a Brad for a conversation about our freedom in Christ. Jeff is a financial advisor from Lexington, KY, a husband and father, and a long time listener of the God Journey. In rapid fire chapters with a lot of humor thrown in, this book will help you identify where you're slipping into religious obligation and encourage you out of it to great freedom and joy in Christ.
Podcast Notes:
Order Breaking the Hex from Amazon
Fields' Brothers website
Helping with Agriculture in Pokot
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Enjoyed hearing you interview my brother, Jeff. I would have been there but my parole officer forbid it. (Just kidding.) It has been great fun working on this book with Jeff. I deeply appreciate Wayne and Brad doing this interview.
There were so many points made in this conversation that confirms what I am learning and experiencing as well. The concepts share are absolutely life-changing and life-giving. This is a return to the wonder of the gospel. Thanks for connecting with Jeff. Hopefully his book becomes available in Canada.
I searched this book a week or so ago and checked out the Breaking the Hex website….Looks so good I ordered a copy and should have it this week. Love this quote: “The cross has become a symbol of religion. (HOW IRONIC!) Actually, it is the symbol of Jesus’ crucifixion that ENDED religion and its merit-based approach to God”
I’m a former Vineyard Pastor and was on staff for a time, and then went out to ‘plant’ a house church network. Thank God He had other ideas! I’m also an RN and work in a Home Hospice setting (yea for no longer being bivocational!). As a ‘church planter’ there were all sorts of resources and ‘coaching’ help available and I’ve even heard of a ‘church midwife’ to help with the ‘church birthing process’
(sorry. hold on a minute. I need to rest my ‘yuck meter’! UGH!!! OK, I’m better now)
WHile your guest’s comments may have been somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I actually like the idea of having resources available to folks who need hospice for their organization-they’ve-always-thought-of-as-church. Whether it is an amicable and ‘easy’ dissolution like your guest went through, or other dwindling congregations, divisions, etc. Sometimes what is needed is not more “ICU treatment” to try and make the life of that organization last longer — but instead an approach (and coaches and midwives) to simply help them end well!
Thanks for the thought-provoking conversations you two always have!
Hi Guys, great podcast as always. Always good to hear the journey of how a book gets out there. Received my copy of the book a couple of days ago and love it, although some of the words don’t travel across to the UK well. No idea what Kool-aid is, who Gomer Pyre is, we play Snakes and Ladders and the image of being Ripped by God made me do a double take as it has the meaning of having well-defined or well-developed muscles colloquially:) Thanks go to Brad for asking the questions I would ask “What do you actually mean by Grace…..? (or words to that effect).
Look forward to getting a copy and hopefully for some gifts:)!
I want to listen to this again as there was something Jeff said that gave me relief/freedom…that it’s not that we are trying to become but it’s we are because of the cross and how the words of Jesus were hardly quoted in the epistles and the gospels can be read with how it’s after the cross now. I have always prayed that my children hunger and thirst for Christ and then just this week we read the woman at the well chapter and when I spoke to my girls that He is the Living Water inside of us that quenches every thirst that we are whole and complete and satisfied in Him. Inside I was thinking how that seems to contradict my earlier desires for my kids to hunger and thirst? It’s like it was a accepting and being rather than a striving…am I understanding this correctly? Or are we supposed to hunger and thirst still? There are so many songs, hungry and thirsty etc and I am hungry for Him and thirsty for Him I think I am going in circles now lol!
And the part about not what we are trying to become but because of the cross it’s Jesus in us and to trust Him to live through us not strive to become better….as much as I have been freed from legalism I would like to be free in this that it’s not that I’m working to become a mom and wife who will not loose her temper but just trust Him to live through me….I think I could go in circles on this too…isn’t there also that I’m to work at not trying to loose my temper whether that be counseling or memorizing scripture? For example I seem to have this as a constant weakness that my whole family knows and I repent of and that’s loosing my temper at times and my daughter has the stealing treats or occasional trinket somewhere …her and I would love to be done with these habits so we pray for God’s help and forgiveness but never seem to be done with it wholly….Idk and how does she grow in Christs love for her and not grow in the “well I messed up and it’s just a part of me and I pray and try”. I mean we extend grace and mercy and forgiveness in our family yet just probably need to read this book lol:)
I would love Jeff and his brother to have a podcast as well. Thanks y’all for this podcast. Muchas blessings!
Hi Victoria. For me, when I labored under the burden of trying to be better for God “hunger and thirsting after righteousness” as a striving to be good for God. It stimulated my own efforts to do more and try harder, which always ended in the frustration of never being able to do enough. After my engagement with the cross, I read those words differently. Now “hungering and thirsting after righteousness” means I can let God know of my desires to be freed from those appetites and motives that have twisted my heart. Without any shame, or need to try to fix it on my own, it invites me into a conversation with Father of growing affection and trust, knowing that this is where my righteousness coms from. Instead of “Be holy as I am holy” being the most onerous command in Scripture, it is now a delightful invitation to be inside of him in a way that continues untwist what sin and religious obligation have distorted in me.
Victoria, thanks for your encouraging words. I will try to share a few thoughts related to your questions. I can only speak from what I have found to be meaningful and helpful in my experience.
1. I no longer strive to become someone. In Christ, we are complete (Col. 2). We are completely loved and accepted. We are a new creation. All things have already become new (II Cor 5). Our true nature/identity is in Christ because of what He did on the cross. We died with him and were raised with Him (Rom 6). Christ is not part of my life or even first in my life. He IS my life (Col 3) not because of my commitment, but because of what He did. Even though I do not always feel or act “new” and “complete”, God says I am. When I do what I do not want to do (Rom 7) it is not me doing it. It is sin that is with me (Rom 7). The wrong behavior is not who we really are. We can relax and trust the life of Christ in us through His Spirit to produce His fruit in us (Gal 5). When we mess up day to day, we still know that we are completely loved and completely right in the sight of God.
2. I like what you said about the Living Water. Jesus said, “…whoever believes in me shall never thirst (Jn 6:35).” That is an amazing statement! On this side of the cross, the Spirit within us fulfills the thirst that we read about before the cross (Jn 7:38-39). I do think many “Christian” songs these days overlook the good news of what was accomplished on the cross. Many songs and sermons could just as easily have been sung/preached before Jesus ever went to the cross. The cross disrupted everything.
3. Roger and I do believe it is important to interpret the Old Testament and the Gospels through the lens of the cross. For example, Jesus talked about denying ourselves and taking up our cross. Christ accomplished that for us. In Him, we already are crucified with Him (Gal 2:20; Rom 6:6). The Hex causes us to mix both sides of the cross and try to do what has already been done. We lose sight of the cross. Under the Hex we strive to become who we already are. The result ends up being the works of the flesh and not the fruit of the Spirit.
Sorry for my reply being so long and somewhat disjointed. I hope it is helpful to you, though. All of this, of course, is rooted in the incredible love of our heavenly Father. Without love, it is nothing (I Cor 13).
Hi Victoria and Jeff, thanks for the dialogue…much of what Victoria described is something so many live inside of (that “going round in circles” as Victoria put it). There’s much Father is continuing to help me process…this brief “e-dialogue” has been helpful as the “walk” continues. Blessings, Sue
Wayne, Jeff, Sue,
Thank you. I’m going to read over and over again what was commented. Thank you. Thank you. It means so much and is really helping me…will write more later after I’m able to take all this in with Daddy.
Thank you.
Hello again Wayne and Jeff! I listened to the Transformed life and so thankful for your voices! I have been struggling with anger this past week in motherhood due to an incident that brought my past upbringing to surface…the good thing is I know this is God inviting me to further healing the bad thing was I got stuck in how bad I was being as a mom with the anger and then the actual incident was the devil lying to me that I’m a horrible mom (the incident is something small…my daughter crossing my face out on a family photo) but made a impact to me that brought up baggage that needs to be healed anyways…after listening to the transformed life I can either face this day as “I’m going to try harder to not snap and be irritable to my kids today” which carries a burden and stress that basically is pushes one right towards what they don’t want to do or I can face this day “I can’t do it, it’s Jesus in me and He loves me and He is working through me so I can simply rest and go love on my kids in gentleness because it’s His love in me” the latter is a winner!
Reading Breaking the Hex now…my husband and I are loving it! Wish we could hang out with you guys! Would be cool if the fields brothers could have a podcast too. I would like to write a kids devotional book as I haven’t come across a devotional book or even bible story book yet that lets kids be free at the cross…it’s always a try harder, do better, how much we fall short, how we can do better to please God. The religious tranining in man made christianity starts young and is prevalent throughout. We live in northern IA/Sothern MN area if W or B or Fields brothers are this way we’d love to host you!
Thanks, Victoria, for your kind words. We’re glad you are enjoying the book. Your thoughts about a children’s book are certainly interesting. Don’t know if we will ever be in your area, but if so, we will keep you in mind. Feel free to contact us if you and your husband are ever passing through Kentucky.
Hello again! As I’m reading Breaking the Hex I am feeling such freedom and relief but also have some questions…
1) it seems like there are a lot of “do’s” in the Bible…”Conduct yourselves in manner worthy…be like minded, do not complain” Philippians , “excel more at pleasing God”1 Thess4:1…how does this go along with in the book saying we don’t need to do more to please God that we already are pleasing to Him and how does this go along with that we are saved by grace and do not grow by effort…the “dos and don’t s in the Bible sometimes come across as effort so I can understand why sermons are based many times on effort? Idk.
2)the communion page in your book I loved!!!! My question is the verses 1Cor 11:27-33 talk about examining ourselves not just simply remembering His death…and then examining part seems to add more than the simplicity of just remembering His death?
Any thoughts?
Thank you!! Also these questions are just coming from me trying to understand more certainly not against this book.
OH I re read the page on the Lords supper and see that it’s examining our faith our trust in Jesus death…
When I was part of a community of believers that I now see as borderline cultish…I had gone too far physically with my boyfriend and when I went to God, He spoke to me the story of Peter and giving me another chance at my heart to be a missionary…the pastors told me I needed to repent before the congregation until I could serve again (this was on a college campus) although I actually wanted to do that as I desired transparency I actually felt God was telling me not to do it publically like that…I ended up getting sick for months I also was depressed as they made my boyfriend and I break up (we are acutually married now…thankfully God deleivered us out of there at different times) anyways I was very sick and depressed and the Pastor told me it was because I was not discerning or judging the body right….that passage by the Lords supper…
I did end up repenting before the congregation but shortly after that He clearly led me out of that place. But this is another reason I’m asking about the meaning of examination/judging the body in regards to the Lords supper.
Thank you.