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Is Churchianity getting in the way of revival? I believe that it is.

We all have pre-conceived ideas about how God can move among us and bring revival. For most Christians it is confined to the 4 walls of a church building or maybe a special tent or conference. Even when we go to the streets we take our Christian culture, language, and music with us.

But what if God really wanted to do something different in our midst?

Well we have a myriad of ‘heresy hunters’ to take care of that unfortunate turn of events. After all, we might want revival but most American Evangelicals expect it to come during a 20 minute sermon surrounded  by 3 hymns and a couple of prayers with an offering in the middle. Plus it better be over in exactly on the hour cause the next service starts when the big hand strikes 12.

Of course I am being ridiculous but mix in your own form of worship and church structure or denominational traditions and see where God is really allowed to move.

What if he wants to move downtown on main street or in the neighborhoods, or maybe at your work or business? what would that look like?

Here’s a good article on this issue by Nicki Pfeifer: The Next Move of God

She writes about how God was moving unseen in the Greek and Roman culture of the 1st century and how Apostles like Paul responded to what they found and how a real move of God followed.            *Top

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       (Image by Lawrence OP via Flickr)

This is also a great time to consider the real need for a reformation of the Charismatic and Pentecostal churches in America.

J. Lee Grady proposes a new reformation along with new theses for change in this article:

“It’s (Past) Time for a Charismatic Reformation”

Here’s the Theses of change that Grady proposes:

1. Let’s reform our theology.

2. Let’s return to the Bible.

3. It’s time for personal responsibility.

4. Stop playing games.

5. Stop the foolishness.

6. End all spiritual extortion now.

7. No more Lone Rangers.

8. Expose the creeps.

9. Stop faking the anointing.

10. Let’s return to purity.

11. We need humility.

12. No more big shots.

13. Never promote gifts at the expense of character.

14. Hold the prophets accountable.

15. Let’s make the main thing the main thing.

Read the whole article to see his comments and explanations under each of the 15 theses. At least a good start and something to consider and pray about. May God bless and reform his church. Let it begin to day and let it begin with us.              *Top

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Happy Halloween –Happy Reformation Day!

I know. October 31st is known for witches, goblins, pumpkins, and trick or treat.

It is amazing to me how in the last 20 years or so Halloween has gone from a one night ‘celebration’ to become an entire season of it’s own with parties and decorations that span nearly an entire month. Plus it has become an excuse for every TV station to flood the air with the worst horror movies of all time -not a genre that I am particularly fond of.

However, this is also the anniversary of a real earth shaking -game changing- historical event that altered the face of Europe and forever changed the Christian Church. It happened on October 31, 1517.

On that day, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany starting The Reformation.

The enemy likes to use this day for propagating his dark agenda but it was also on this day nearly 500 years ago that a genuine move of God was initiated that still continues. The beginning of a revival right in the face of the enemy on his own day.

Let’s redeem this dark day and pray for God to continue to reform and revive his church.  Let’s also in remembrance of the original Reformation pray today for a new awakening to begin in America. May a new door of renewal and revival open in America that no man can shut.  In Jesus name, Amen             *Top

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The times we are in remind me of the old Byrd’s hit song- ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ (Based on Eccl. 3:1).

The first line is particularly poignant:

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”

We are in a time of transition in the natural with fall in our midst and Winter on the way.  Actually out here in So. California, September is usually an extension of Summer when it comes to hot weather. Now with October, the change is finally happening and cooler weather and rain is on the way.

On the Spiritual front, we are in the midst of the Biblical (Jewish) holy week with Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) coming on Saturday. It is a week of transition from the old year to the new. In the older covenant, believers would consider their lives over the last 12 months and seek God’s forgiveness for any shortcomings and dedicate themselves to improvement for the year ahead.

Lot’s of Christians over the years have noticed that changes in their ministry seem to take place usually around this time of the year. I can see that pattern in my own life and ministry. In fact, several that I know in prophetic ministry specifically believe that during this week they ‘go under the Shepherd’s rod’ and are evaluated by The Master.

When you look at what is happening around the world it is easy to see that we are in a time of transition and no one seems to really know how it is all going to play out in the next year or so. Is America going down like so many seem to think and is China really going to replace us as the new ‘super power’?

In the Middle East, everything has been thrown up in the air following the so-called ‘Arab Spring’.  Iran wants to destroy Israel and they will probably have nuclear weapons sometime in the next year or two. The Iranian Supreme leader says that the 12th Imam is appearing to him and is coming soon to lead the Muslims to world domination. Turkey is now styling itself as a new ‘Islamic power’ on the rise and their leaders are talking about establishing a new Muslim Caliphate. Their goal is to dominate the World and bring on one world religion –Islam.

Notice that no one wants to be friends with Israel anymore. Even the USA seems to be turning it’s back on the Holy Land. Are we entering the end of the ‘end-times’?

The nations are in turmoil, natural calamities have risen to Biblical levels. The world economy is in shambles. The whole world is looking for a leader or some group to rise up and solve all of these impossible problems both politically and economically.

Look at the current state of the American Church. The mainline churches have turned their back on Biblical teaching –even now the Presbyterians. The Southern Baptists have been losing members and are now considering a name change. A week doesn’t seem to go by without a new scandal rising up concerning one Charismatic or Pentecostal preacher or another.

We are definitely in a time of transition. Old leaders and denominations are falling and new ones will rise up to take their place. God is setting his church in order.

Right now is a good time for all of us in the ministry to get down on our knees and seek a clear understanding and vision of where we are right now and where the lord wants to take us. If changes need to take place in our lives- now is the time to make them.

Now is the time to repent of past failures and seek a closer relationship with the Master. it is His church after all. We keep praying –”thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done” -It is now time to really mean it and truly understand what we are asking for. Now is the season to Turn, Turn, Turn.            *Top

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Here’s some comments that Pope Benedict made recently in Germany.  He warned the Lutherans of what he called a ‘new form of Christianity’ that was challenging mainstream Christian churches. While not specifically saying so, it was obvious by his comments that he was referring to Evangelicals and Pentecostals/Charismatics:

"Faced with a new form of Christianity, which is spreading with overpowering missionary dynamism, sometimes in frightening ways, the mainstream Christian denominations often seem at a loss."

"This is a form of Christianity with little institutional depth, little rationality and even less dogmatic content, and with little stability. This worldwide phenomenon poses a question to us all: what is this new form of Christianity saying to us, for better and for worse?"

Response: It is amazing to me that the Pope thinks that Evangelical and Pentecostal/Charismatic churches and missions are a problem –especially since they are growing at an exponential rate and spreading the Gospel to every nation? I would think that it would be far more ‘frightening’ to the Devil than the Pope.

<<Read the rest of what I have to say on my Answers blog>>

*Top

Vic Eliason still remembers the exact spot on the floor where he stood with three students in 1961, praying for a miracle…

"We prayed on that spot on a Friday, believing that if God wanted us to have air time, He would have to provide it," Eliason recalled. "On Monday, the door slammed open and a man I had never seen before asked, ‘Could anybody here use some free air time?’"

That was just the beginning of a life of miracles. On another occasion Eliason was involved with trying to purchase their first radio station -a 100,000-watt station evaluated at $465,000 even though the ministry "didn’t have a dime":

"The bank said they’d look it over, to see if it would be wise for us to take on that size of an expansion. And not only did the bank suggest it was a good idea, but they also said, ‘The people you reach are your greatest resource. We urge you to do it. How much do you have to put down?’

"I went like this," Eliason said, holding his forefinger to his thumb in the shape of a zero. "’Well,’ the bank said, ‘I guess we’ll have to write your whole check.’"

Eliason could only shake his head, saying, "To God be the glory."

From there the ministry -VCY America, has grown to operate nearly 30 Christian radio stations across the mid-west and provide on-air content for dozens more.

Response: Just a good story to remind all of us in the middle of a major recession that God is still in the miracle business. Whether you are starting a ministry or a business in his name.

Thousands of ministries and churches across America got started with miracles of their own and in today’s recession keep on keeping on depending on God’s alternative kingdom economy.

This well could be the finest hour of the American church where everyone must turn to God in a new way just to pay the bills. But not only that, we are called to expand and take the Gospel to every nation. That is going to take a bunch of miracles, but Praise the Lord he is still in that business.            *Top

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              (Image by shioshvili via Flickr)

Are the bells tolling for the American church?

From LifeWay Research comes the following trends which may soon affect American Churches:

1. Our nation will see the emergence of the largest generational mission field in more than a century. According to our current research, the Millennial generation, those born between 1980 and 2000, will have a very low Christian representation. Our estimates now are that only 15 percent are Christian. With a huge population of nearly 80 million, that means that nearly 70 million young people are not Christians.

2. The dominant attitude of this huge generation toward Christianity will be largely indifferent. Only 13 percent of the Millennials rank any type of spiritual matter as important to their lives. They are not angry at churches and Christians. They simply ignore us because they do not deem us as meaningful or relevant.

3. Senior adult ministries in churches will experience steep declines. As the large Baby Boomer generation moves into their older years, they will resist any suggestion that they are senior adults, no matter how senior they may be. Unfortunately, many churches are slow to adapt to new realities. If they do senior adult ministry the way they’ve always done it, it will be headed for failure.

4. The large Boomer generation will become more receptive to the gospel. Our data is anecdotal for now, but we are seeing indications that the Boomers may actually become more interested in spiritual matters in general and Christianity specifically. If so, this trend will be counter to other trends where adults tend to become less receptive to the gospel as they age. The Baby Boomers have tried it all and found no joy. They may likely turn to the hope of the gospel.

5. Family will be a key value for both of the large generations. For the Millennials, family is their most important value. Nearly eight out of ten of the Millennials ranked family as the important issue in their lives. They told us that they had healthy relationships with their parents who, for the most part, are Baby Boomers. Some churches say they are family friendly, but few actually demonstrate that value. Churches that reach both of these generations will make significant changes to become the type of churches that foster healthy family relationships.

Read the whole thing: Five major trends for churches in America

Response: Many secular folks are anticipating a huge decline in membership for Christian Churches in America. As the Boomer generation gets older and begins to depart from this earth, many expect that the Christian influence in America will finally decline and go the same way as Europe.

The key to that expectation lies with the small number of Millennials that are actually Christians and involved in churches in America. The writer of the Lifeway article views this as a wide open domestic mission field opportunity.

In the next generation, will churches be closed up and shuttered all across America like Europe or will a new move of God bring an entire generation to Christ? The demographics are definitely against the church. I suggest that we pray for the later and participate in a new move instead. We obviously need a new awakening In America.             *Top

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He points out that the American church has not really turned to God in a disparate way, that the circumstances may call for more radical responses on our part.

Personally looking over the history of our land, there has never been a time when so many major natural disasters have stricken this country in so short a period of time. Then we are in the midst of 2 1/2 wars while our economy is at its worst point in last 70 years or an entire generation.

What does the future hold?

We are preparing for the worse both naturally and economically out here in California. Too many words have come our way to ignore the possibilities of major trouble. However we are also expecting and hoping for revival in the midst of it all.

How are we to respond? Radical prayer is in order. Read the suggestions for responses to differing situations in Goll’s article: “Responding to the Times”

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Last Christmas Eve I attended along with several of my family one of the services at Crystal Cathedral and was shocked at the changes taking place there. The congregation had declined significantly and the choir was a quarter of the size it use to be plus none of the top name professional musicians were there like they usually are.

Our family has been going to Christmas Eve services at the cathedral for more than 20 years and it always is a wonderful holiday experience but not so much this last year.

Since then, the Crystal Cathedral has gone into bankruptcy and the buildings and property are being sold. Meanwhile the graying and depleted congregation that was a mega church for an entire generation in Southern California is left to leasing their own former buildings.

Now for the Good News

However in the midst of all of the trouble and depressing decline there is an unlikely move of God going on in the Hispanic Ministry at the church. The Spanish speaking services continue to grow at an exponential rate.

Since former Argentine Assemblies of God pastor Dante Gebel was put in charge of the Crystal Cathedral’s Hispanic ministry 2 years ago it has grown from 300 to 3,000 people, and is actually now larger than its parent English speaking congregation. Plus the services are far more Charismatic and Pentecostal and nothing like the traditional English services there.

Pastor Gebel expects his congregation to reach over 10,000 in the next year or so. It is a real blessing to see this kind of growth and this hidden move going on especially when all we hear about locally is all of the bad news when it comes to the Crystal Cathedral.             *Top

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According to Jamie Work, pastor of Candies Creek Baptist Church in Charleston, Tenn.:

God turned an “11-day summit into a six-week revival” at Candies Creek, and the revival is continuing.
“As a result of corporate prayer and repentance, God is birthing us into a brand-new church.”

In his testimony before the SBC Executive Committee, Pastor Work told how Candies Creek spent weeks in prayer before the initial April 10-20 revival meetings at the church. As a result, the Holy Spirit birthed a move of God that resulted in over 25 hours of public confession of sin:

“We are still dealing with what God has been saying to us. Our world has been turned upside down.”

Also the church itself ended up confessing its corporate sin.  The following were some of the sins covered:

prayerlessness; superficiality with God and one another; failure to practice biblical, redemptive church discipline; lukewarmness (a lack of commitment); preoccupation with mammon (money and stuff); and programmatic worship (non-Spirit led).

Though the revival meetings officially ended after six weeks, regular prayer meetings continue to be well attended by the members. Pastor Work says that as a result of the move:

Candies Creek will “push all ministries off the table and put prayer in the center. Then, we will rebuild our ministries around prayer.”

We need to take people deeper into their walk with the Lord in order to get them into a deeper relationship with each other.”

As a result of their experience, Pastor work put forth a resolution before the recent SBC conference in Phoenix,Arizona seeking revival across all of America beginning with prayer and repentance.

See the following resolution adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention:

WHEREAS, Both the Old and New Testaments, as well as church history, attest to the reality that God works powerfully and manifests His presence among His people through authentic God-seeking prayer and repentance; and

WHEREAS, Jesus expressed deep grief and righteous anger when He came to the temple and found it to be something other than a “house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17); and

WHEREAS, The book of Acts teaches through the birth of the church that what is birthed in prayer is of necessity sustained by prayer (e.g., Acts 1:14; 2:1, 42; 4:31); and

WHEREAS, The common corporate sins of many churches include, but are not limited to, prayerlessness, lukewarmness, neglect of biblical church discipline, and shallow relationships with God and with one another; and

WHEREAS, In our preoccupation with Mammon, we have too often embraced unbiblical priorities in our spending, our giving, our response to the poor, and our allocation of resources, assuming by our actions, contrary to our Lord’s explicit teaching, that our lives consist in the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15); and

WHEREAS, For the past fifty years wickedness and family collapse have been increasing rapidly, and at the same time we have seen that programs and strategies alone cannot revive lagging baptism rates or anemic discipleship; and

WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention adopted the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report in 2010, a part of which called for pastors to lead their churches in Solemn Assemblies “for the purpose of calling Christ’s people to return to God, to repentance, and to humility in service to a renewed commitment to Christ and the Great Commission”; and

WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention adopted the addition to the Convention Calendar of Activities a focused Day of Prayer for the SBC in 2011 and for the years to follow; and

WHEREAS, God has already promised that He will not despise a “broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17); now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, June 14-15, 2011, do hereby beseech all pastors, congregations, ministry leaders, and denominational workers to seek the Lord in the manner of 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Joel 2:12-17, and to repent corporately in their various churches of all sins which God’s Spirit reveals; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call on all Southern Baptist churches to renew their first-love devotion to Jesus Christ through full confession of and repentance from all revealed sin, and that they humbly declare their utter dependence upon, and glad surrender to, His grace; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage all Southern Baptists to pursue a life of genuine repentance, Kingdom-focused prayer times for sweeping revival and spiritual awakening, and consistent prayer for specific lost people, missions, and ministry; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we urge Southern Baptist churches to embrace corporate prayer and repentance for revival in the hope that God would be merciful to our churches, the Southern Baptist Convention, the United States of America, and the peoples of the world for the glory of His great Name.

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