I'm Tired of Church

“I’m tired of church… I’m tired of doing church.” My friends and I nodded, understanding the sentiment, but clarification was needed nonetheless. Mark has pastored his church in Newton, North Carolina for sixteen years and by most people’s definition it is a great church: people are coming to Christ regularly, marriages are being transformed, the building is expanding. We had just spent time discussing how he could add 200 more seats in the sanctuary. The church has prospered under Mark’s leadership. I was excited for what God was doing, and honestly, a little jealous. So when Mark said he was tired of church, I had to ask for clarification.

His response, “I want to move the needle.” Now it was becoming clearer, and he was voicing what so many pastors and me are feeling.

Creating efficient systems, starting new programs, developing leaders, drawing crowds, creative worship, and installing lights make the church more engaging for the ones who attend, but if we are honest, the church is making less of an impact today than ever in America. We have become irrelevant to our communities. Sure, we know how to entertain, inspire, and give great tips for daily life, but life transformation doesn’t make it outside the doors of the building.

As seven of us pastors rode in the car, we began to rehearse historical revivals and how they shaped and transformed whole towns. The presence of God was overwhelming, to the point where people would fall on their knees in repentance. Factories would shut down so “people could tend to their souls.” Today, our communities barely notice the church and secular voices dominate and dictate what morality is.

Days later, Mark sent us a message further clarifying the metaphor, a reference to the old analog vu meter used in audio recording. VU stood for Volume Units. When recording, some audio sources were not even loud enough to make the needle move off the bottom- in other words it was too faint to be of much use to record. So saying that something is moving the needle means that it is enough to register or make a difference to the user- enough for the user to take note of.

Mark was expressing what we each wanted: A spiritual awakening that moved the needle; meaning transformed lives which changes people, families, and cities.

The evangelical world has historically called this experience revival. Although the word “revival” is not found in the New Testament, it expresses a renewed emphasis on spiritual matters that change behavior. It is the extraordinary activity of the Holy Spirit that leads the people of God to extraordinary commitment to the work of God. It is a spiritual realignment of our hearts and lives to the will of God, and a deep longing to know God and to make Him known.

Many books have been written over the years on revival with incredible stories, and they all seem to come down to a few ingredients: corporate prayer, repentance, and a bold voice which is not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God that leads to salvation.

The most prominent scriptures quoted in reference to revival comes from 2 Chronicles 7:13–16 and Revelation 2:4-5:

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

 And

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

It would be wise for those of us looking to “move the needle,” look into our own hearts first and allow the Holy Spirit to search and reveal the areas of our lives we need to address. We often want God to bring revival to our church, or country, and miss what God wants to do in us personally. Out of the inner longing of wanting to know Christ above all things, we turn our attention to wanting to make Him known to others.

My prayer is that the church of Jesus begins to move the needle. Lord, start the work in me.

I Saw Bold

Over the last couple of weeks, I saw what bold looks like.

I visited a single young lady (my daughter) living in a gospel-restricted area of the world. She fell in love with a people and country that threatens those who do not believe the same way they do. This young lady's calling led her to live among the people and demonstrate the love of God. She is living with others who are called to make a difference by reaching out to the broken and hurting of that country and bringing the hope and deliverance that only Jesus brings.

In the same country there is a community of believers that live bold for Jesus. They sing loudly of God's grace and preach God's Word, even though every day, their way of life is threatened, yet they stand firm in their faith.

Shortly after that, I saw the Fairfax County School Board look directly into the face of hundreds of frustrated parents and dismiss their voice. The arrogance of that board was unbelievable as they gave into political correctness and a governmental ungodly agenda. However, there was one who stood up to her peers and spoke with passion and reason, her name is Elizabeth Schultz. At the end of the meeting, the majority voted to move forward with their agenda, but Elizabeth stood her ground and demonstrated a strength of heart like few others.

In the same week, I saw bold again. This time it was found in the students of Freedom High School along with some friends from other schools. Early in the year, the students of Edge Club and The Fellowship of Christian Athletes joined together to pray for their schools. In prayer, God put it on their hearts to hold an event where they could invite their friends and share the message of Jesus' love. They called it "Culture Shift". Their prayer is to see their culture shift to loving God and loving each other. With only a little guidance from pastors and leaders, they used the Freedom High School auditorium and almost two hundred of their friends attended. They boldly worshiped God, shared stories about God, prayed for those who were sick and hurting and invited their friends to receive Jesus. They held nothing back. At the end of the night, many students were drawn to the love of God and proclaimed Jesus as Lord of their lives. There are no words to describe how proud I am as a parent and a pastor of these young people.

Recently we have heard how Christians are losing their influence in this culture. However, if what I have seen over the last three weeks is any indication, signs of a great spiritual awakening are all around us.

Many years ago God said to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
 
May the Lord help us. We need more BOLD. 

Change Before You Have To - A Thought for Moms

I am excited about our new series, "Change Before You Have To" that we are kicking off on Sunday, April 12th. Change is sometimes uncomfortable, but authentic change can bring the life of abundance, passion, and satisfaction you've always hoped for. 

We will be using the book by Rob Ketterling with the same title and studying God's Word to see who change is possible. 

One of the people we will be studying is King Josiah (found in 2 Kings 22) and the great reforms he made in the nation of Israel. He made radical changes in order to bring the people back to worshipping Jehovah. 

What struck me as a side point, was how he got to this point. His grandfather was Manasseh, the most wicked king of Judah. His dad, Ammon, continued the wickedness and was murdered after only two years by his own servants, and Josiah becomes king at only eight years old. 

Here is a text describing him: 

"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left."

So young and so committed. 

It makes me ask some questions: "Who taught him?" and "Where did he get a heart to follow God?" For sure it did not come from dad.

The answer is found in the text - his mom and likely his grandfather on his mother's side, Adaiah. The only thing we have to go on is that Jedidah must have been a godly woman who greatly influenced her son. 

My point - All you moms who feel like you are alone in raising your kids, you make a difference. Your names may not get mentioned often in the history books, but the lives you are impacting can change the world, just as Josiah brought about some of the greatest spiritual reforms in all of Judah's history. 

Who knows mom, maybe you are raising another Josiah - we could sure use one right now.

Keith