Survival or Revival
Evangelical pastors intent upon restoring the influence of Judeo-Christianity in a post-Christian culture must engage in the process, without becoming enraged at their prospects.
NOTE TO SELF: Verbally carpet-bombing a community of people who disagree with your political philosophy or theological position exposes your spiritual condition without advancing your cause. Here's why.
“The anger of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.”
James 1:20
Os Guinness challenges pastors to "think Christianly." I believe he has accurately described the current condition of the American Church. He persuades me to focus my eyes on the revival of the church, not the survival of the church. Here's why.
“Much of the American Church is in the same poor condition as the church before the Reformation or before the Great Awakening in the early 18th Century. So we need reformation and we need revival. Our greatest contribution to that is to recognize the difference between what we can do and what God alone can do, so we pray. But as we wait and pray and work, one of the foundational things we need is the ability to persuade. Under God it is our immense privilege and challenge to work to open hearts and minds to what we know is the best news ever.”
Os Guinness, (From Interview in OUTREACH Magazine, March/ April 2016, p. 64)
Focusing on the survival of the church often leads to an emphasis upon her appearance without addressing her health. Survival is a poor substitute for revival, because it is consumed with cosmetology, not theology.
Putting more rouge on a dead church is a deception, not a resurrection. Rouge is cold comfort. It offers an appearance of life, without turning death into life. Accept no substitutes.
Revival is a result of pastors leading their people away from confidence in man-made activity, and towards a dependence upon a genuine movement of The Spirit of God. Pray for it to happen in your church.
John the Baptist set the bar for those who would pave the way for a fresh movement of God. The road to Spiritual Awakening is paved with the crushed pride of broken men, not upon the arrogant eloquence of prideful men.
"He must increase, but I must decrease"
John 3:30
Prayer breathes fresh life into The Body of Christ, and the church is in need of a resurrection. Planting more churches in this Post Christian culture is a noble effort, as long as these churches offer new life in Christ, not an appearance of life.
Don't be deceived. Planting another corpse is only a burial, not a revival. Don't stop planting. Start praying for a resurrection. Why?
"The world will never believe in a religion in which there is no power. A rationalized faith, a socialized church, and a moralized gospel may gain applause, but they awaken no conviction and win no converts."
Samuel Chadwick
NOTE TO SELF: Do what you can do, but trust God to do what only He can do. Make your next breath a prayer for the revival of the church, not a cry for the survival of it. Without a fresh breath from God, there is no survival. Shallow breathing is a sign of impending death. Take a deep breath and keep breathing. Revival is just one prayer away, so we pray.
TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!