“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.
