Praying For Revival

Recently I was in a discussion with someone about "Revival". They quickly found that I had a very different 'take' on what exactly revival is, and what it is that we should seek when it comes to revival. For some time now, I've felt that the Lord has been teaching me that I must be a man who consistently dies to the right to always be right. So, we seperated in disagreement, but hopefully in a loving way. I'm sure he left feeling that I was not very "spiritual", however, that wouldn't be the first time someone left a conversation with me feeling that way.

I think that today's Church can easily be ignored. I mean, we've tried not to be ignored through our annoying and noisy political involvement: "Listen to us, or we'll rally millions of voters and vote you out." "Listen to us, or we'll form our own political party." "Listen to us, or we'll..."

When I look at Jesus, or even the Church of the New Testament, I don't see them going for noisy political activism. I see them becoming a force to be reckoned with because they had this radical passion for God. That's what drove them. And it's what bound them together. The community of Jesus-lovers protected each other. At times they lived together, celebrated together, grieved together, gave together, served together, and they even died together. They hid together in the catacombs. Eventually, their passionate, radical strength conquered the Roman Empire.

That blows my mind! This small community brought fear to a mighty, brutal empire and they couldn't be ignored, simply because of their passion for Jesus and the strength they had in their relationships with each other. A Roman general once said, "Never have I seen such tenacity of love." He complained that if you killed one, three more would take his or her place.

Wow. With an insignificant number of people, this radical New Testament church overwhelmed a massive military empire. Its success had absolutely NOTHING to do with politics and EVERYTHING to do with it's commitment and passion for Jesus, its strength of character, and its community life.

To me,... that is revival.

It's like when real revival breaks out people HAVE to react to it. I believe that the authentic love for God and others is either going to tick people off and repulse them, or they are going to be compelled to join in. But I honestly can't see "the real deal" just being ignored.

Today, 'the Church' seems to be getting ignored. Why?

This friend of mine was telling me how he's part of what he called, "a house of prayer" that is consistently praying for revival. He began to describe powerful prayer services where folks are literally crying out to God "to revive our land". "Folks walk up to a microphone and scream and wail for God to 'loose their city in the name of Jesus!' It's totally awesome. Sometimes we'll pray like that all night long!"

Neat guy, but I think he's praying amiss. You see, he's part of a movement that is praying for revival so that God will fix our country. When you ask him what that means, he'll begin describing what revival will look like: We we will have more Christians in political offices. Kids will be able to pray in our public schools. Alcoholism will go away, as bars shut down. Pornography will evaporate. President Obama will quote the Bible in speeches. You know, stuff like that.

I wonder how many are praying for a revival within ourselves... personally? The kind of revival where God would give us a revolutionary passion for Him and the ones He loves so much. Who's praying for the kind of revival that would inspire them to leave their darkened, smoke-filled, candle-lit, worship centers with their incredible musicians and sound equipment, in order to walk next door and actually BE Jesus to a world that can't see Him so well through our walls?

What if we stopped singing revival songs and screaming into microphones for God to do something radical... and became the answer to our own prayers?

In Luke 10 Jesus is talking to His buddies and He tells them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest (verse 2). Did you catch that? Jesus told them to pray for people to get out there and get it done. So sure, prayer is extremely important. But check out the very next thing that comes out of His mouth: "Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves." You didn't miss that did you? Jesus told them to pray... then He said, "And by the way... BE THE ANSWER TO YOUR OWN PRAYER... AND GO YOURSELVES!"

Don't get me wrong. I believe the Church needs revival. It needs to be awakened. I'm just not sold on the idea that we should be spending hours praying for it... 24/7. I'm simply not sold on the idea that we need to attend conferences and seminars, where thousands gather to wail and "cry out to God to heal America". Sure, pray for God (He is the 'Lord of the harvest') to reach out; but shouldn't that take about 5 seconds? (Is there a Bible verse that gives us any idea how long our prayers should be? If you find one, please send it to me. Seriously.)

The truth is, we like our prayer meetings. They're cool. The goose-bumpy presence of God is groovy-neat... and we don't want to leave. I get it.

However, another thing is also true: Authentic revival isn't always so groovy feeling. It always seems to bring persecution. Jesus did say in that verse (Luke 10:3) that He was sending them out as lambs among wolves. In case you aren't familiar with the food chain: Lambs get eaten by wolves. Jesus also said, "If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also (John 15:20). Paul added, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12).

Feel like some encouraging reading about revival? Check out what happened when revival hit Pisidian Antioch (Paul and Barny got the boot). When revival hit Lystra and Derbe (Paul got stoned... with rocks, not hippie-lettuce... and then left for dead). When revival came to Corinth, the Jews hauled Paul into court and charged him with heresy (That time Paul actually escaped physical harm, but an angry mob beat the stuffing out of Sosthenes, the local synagogue ruler, right outside the courtroom). When a dude named, George Whitefield preached in the 18th century, they threw rocks at him and spit on him (he didn't exactly get a book-deal handed to him).

Yeah, baby... good times!

So, you bet... let's pray for revival! But get ready. It's not all about accoustic guitars, motivational sermons, and pretty prayers. Things might literally get rough and uncomfortable. Things could actually get worse,... and the 'worse' could start in our own church.

But you know what? When we're weak... Jesus is strong. It's always during the moments of persecution, that the Church advances and grows. It's when we are committed to serving, loving, and obeying the voice of God - whether we get the goose-bumps or not - that His awesome Kingdom advances. It's when God revives individuals and our passion becomes radical for Jesus and others that His followers, the Church, doesn't get ignored.

Praising in a Grave Situation

I'm smack dab in the middle of a devastatingly busy week. I could bore everyone with all the details, but take my word for it, I'm barely keeping afloat at the moment. As I was trying to organize my life and carefully plan how I needed to spend each and every hour in order to accomplish all that must be done... I received a text.

It seems one of my closest friends, Sheila Key, is losing her mother. Yesterday, Sheila and Buzz Key were enjoying their first day of a week-long family vacation when they received the call: Sheila's mother had had massive strokes on both sides of her brain. Today, the very hour I type this, they will remove her from life-support. As I talked on the phone with Buzz, my heart was broken,... because my friends were hurting.

So, I decided to take a few moments, turn the lights down low in my office, hold all calls, and read a bit of the Word.

Amazingly,... I opened to the following verse:

Job 1:21
"He said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.'"

Whenever I turn to read a passage from the Old Testament Book of Job, I realize a few things: First, I remember that I was taught somewhere along the line that this is the 'oldest' Book in the entire Bible. In other words, many Bible scholars believe that it was actually written even before Moses penned Genesis. I also recall that there is much debate whether or not this Book actually happened at all, or if is simply an ancient play that was performed before numerous audiences. I won't even touch that, except to say that the Book of Job IS in our Bibles and that is significant to me. It is meaningful to me because it means that God wanted us to have, study, and apply this story to our stories. It is also interesting to me to think that many of the great Bible heroes would have probably heard or read this story many times in their own lives.

I wonder if when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the king's idol and they said those awesome and famous words, "Our God can deliver us from the fire, but even if He doesn't, we will not bow!" (Daniel 3:17-18*), I wonder if the story of Job and that fantastic verse quoted above (Job 1:21) resounded in their hearts and minds?

Oh, how I long to be that kind of radical. That I'd be the kind of person that praises the name of the Lord in the good times... and the bad. That I'd recognize that every good gift I enjoy is ultimately from the Lord, and when anything... or anyone... is separated from me I should not murmur or complain, but rather bless the name of the Lord anyway.

I find it ironic how my problems, and my feelings of being overwhelmed, can seem so difficult at times, and then in a mere instant, literally the time it takes to read a simple text, they can seem to be put into perspective.

I'm learning, however slowly, that my story is fairly simple, and although it seems to be 'everything' to me at any given moment, in reality, it is only a tiny part of a greater story: God's story. God's story is filled with all kinds of adventures as well as mundane moments, joys and disappointments, victories and beatings, births and even deaths. Yet, it is the radical that chooses to bless the name that is above all the other names that have ever been spoken - the name of Jesus.

May you and I bless the name of Jesus: When we're hurting. When we're rejoicing. When we're tired. When we're burned out. When we're sad. When we're left without answers. Truly, there is no other name under all of Heaven greater and by which men might be saved!


* By the way... if you've never read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego you are totally missing out. You've GOTTA read it! It's absolutely one of my very favorites! You'll find it in the Old Testament Book of Daniel, chapter 3.
Read it by clicking here.

Take The Reigns Off!

Riding my motorcycle from Colorado Springs, CO back home to Kansas City was quite the experience. The radio stated that the heat rose to well over 108 degrees in the shade. I really don't know exactly how hot it was out on the black top of I-70. I found myself having to pull over and soak my T-shirt in the sinks of every single Rest Area along the way, which made for a slow, difficult day of riding.

At one particular rest stop I met two women who were driving my way. They had a sticker on the side of their car with a Cross on it. As I was straddling my bike and putting on my helmet, I commented on how I liked the Cross. This began a short discussion that resulted in me identifying myself as a pastor. We exchanged pleasantries and they rode off. I took one last drink of water and started up the bike.

Before I could continue my journey, the ladies had done a U-Turn and come back to me with the driver's window down. The driver informed me that the Lord had just spoken to her and that she had to come back and give me a direct 'word from the Lord'. I turned off my bike and listened intently...

She said that God wanted me to know that He wasn't totally pleased with my youth ministry the way it was and that He was going to explode my youth group and do a new thing in it. She then asked what I thought of that. When I informed her that I wasn't a youth pastor, but actually a lead pastor, she back-tracked a bit and said that although the youth ministry was indeed going to explode, that the church I pastored would never be pleasing to Him, or grow, if I didn't "take the reigns off".

I asked her, "What do you mean, 'take the reigns off'? What am I supposed to do?"

She said that she had heard of Desperation Church, and that she knew that we were too "formalized and set in our ways". She mentioned how we always have our "little singing times and preaching times", but never leave room for the Holy Spirit to move and minister like He wants to among the people. She said that He was angry about the way that I had squelched the Holy Spirit by "reigning Him in, instead of letting Him reign". She began to describe how I needed to allow times of intercession and repentance, and forget about the singing and preaching and just let God knock people over with His presence and His power.

As I sat on top my bike, my soaked shirt already beginning to dry in the insane heat, I told her that I was very sorry, but I didn't feel that was a Word from God and would not be accepting it as such.

She was flabbergasted by this comment. She said, "Listen, I'm only telling you exactly, word-for-word, what I am hearing the Lord tell me. If you refuse to listen to the Lord, then that is on your hands... not mine!" She then drove off, heading east on I-70 towards her apparent home in Shawnee, KS.

I sat there for a few more moments and talked with my Friend, Jesus.

Honestly,... My conversation went something like this:

"Lord, please tell me that wasn't really You. I don't feel like it was You. That didn't sound like You. If it was You, how come You talk to people like her specifically about how I should be ministering, but You have been silent about the "reigns" thing every other time I've sought Your counsel? I read Your Word... lots. I love it. I am surrounded, pretty regularly, by those who are in love with You. We constantly are talking about ways in which we can love/serve/obey You. I love that. Why exactly would You dump all this on me, in that way, in the middle of Nowhere-Kansas, on the hottest freakin' day of my life?"

Nothing. No response. Only silence.

When I desperately need to hear God... and He doesn't make a peep... I have a choice. I can either freak out, get angry, and walk away from Him. Or, I can be still, wait,... and think back to the last thing I heard Him say. As I said earlier, He's my Friend, so I chose option #2.

I started my bike and started eastward on I-70. As I rode, all of a sudden, specific Scriptures began popping into my mind:

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)

"'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.' And He left them and went away." (Matt. 16:4)

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." (Psalm 1:1)

"Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy." (Proverbs 12:20)

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galations 1:10)

Listen, I know I'm not very impressive. I wish I could write that I heard God audibly speak to me. But, for some reason, my Friend God doesn't work that way with me. It's almost as if He's pleased when I trust Him, love Him, and obey Him out of simple, child-like faith. (Remember Hebrews 11:6?)

As I rode, a big smile spread across my face. I knew God wasn't condemning me, but rather He was encouraging me. He was loving me. Within a half hour I was zooming past those two ladies and I flashed my smile and gave a wave... and I left them and their so-called-word-from-the-Lord far behind me. It was then that one last Scripture popped into my head:
"The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect." (Psalm 33:10)

May I never be a man, a pastor, or a Christian that puts the reigns on God's Holy Spirit. I truly desire for the Lord to reign in every aspect of my life and ministry. Perhaps that won't look like what others envision,... perhaps it will. However, one thing I'm grateful to be learning is that the Spirit of the Master is good and wants to make Himself heard in our lives. The prophet Elijah discovered that that Spirit does not usually come in a strong wind, an earthquake, or a fire - not usually in obvious, in-your-face kinds of ways. He is more subtle; He typically comes to you and I in a gentle whisper.

And that whisper can be easily missed when there's too much emotional noise around, or when we're crying out for an audible, or even visible 'sign'.

It's when we learn to quiet our soul to listen, we may be surprised at all that we hear. Wisdom, comfort, peace, truth, encouragement... all these things come from God's Spirit... to His friends.

Quitting Christianity

This article has captured my attention. Please read it carefully and especially the final two paragraphs. I'd love to know what you think. Thanks. - Michael


The Facebook announcement by bestselling author Anne Rice that she has "quit Christianity" has set off a firestorm among believers. But many in Christian circles are sympathetic. Kirsten Powers reports.

Anne Rice just gave Christianity the pink slip.

In 1998, the legendary author had returned to her childhood faith of Catholicism, announcing she would no longer pen vampire novels but instead "write to glorify God." Last week, she announced she had "quit Christianity."

In a posting on her Facebook page, she said: "I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being 'Christian' or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to 'belong' to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen."

Rice’s story is all too familiar to me, and I suspect many other people. American churches are too often hotbeds of intolerance and cruel condemnation.

I feel your pain, sister.

Like Rice, I developed a deep faith later in life and, like her, I brought with me liberal views that aren't normally associated with devout Christians. I also brought a dim view of organized religion, and a particular hostility to evangelicals, who I viewed as anti-intellectual bigots. The truth is, had I known the day I tagged along with a new boyfriend to his church, that it was evangelical—and not merely Presbyterian—I would never have set foot in the place. But I did, and as much as I tried to resist, my life was ultimately radically altered. With time, I came to call that church my spiritual home and today many of my closest friends are evangelicals who have turned my stereotypes on their head.

Nonetheless, Rice's story is all too familiar to me, and I suspect many other people. American churches are too often hotbeds of intolerance and cruel condemnation.

Although she says she hasn't abandoned religion, Rice herself says that other Christians have told her that she isn't a real Catholic; that she isn't really saved; that she is going to Hell, and that she should stop misleading people and leave the church. "My commitment to [God] is as firm as it ever was," she told me. "I want to keep that commitment front and center in my life. But I have to walk away from the churches. The anger and frustration becomes so toxic that you have to conclude this is coming between me and God, and I can't let that happen. I can't follow his followers."

This is reminiscent of what Mahatma Gandhi once said: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Or, in the words of another famous Christian, U2 frontman Bono, who said: "Religion can be the enemy of God. It's often what happens when God, like Elvis, has left the building. A list of instructions where there was once conviction; dogma where once people just did it; a congregation led by a man where once they were led by the Holy Spirit."
But there is an alternative.

I was fortunate to get plugged into a community who take their faith seriously but have rejected the epidemic among devout Christians of spiritualizing conservative politics. Many of them are leaders in a new movement that seeks to restore the faith to its original purpose, which—believe it or not—isn't to elect Republicans or trash gay people. (In the same way, it isn't about electing Democrats or fighting for middle-class tax cuts.)

One emerging leader is Jonathan Merritt, a Southern Baptist pastor, who grew up in the bosom of conservative Christianity; his father was the president of the Southern Baptist convention and Merritt graduated from Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. "I am finding disillusionment with Christianity in America," said Merritt, who just released, Green Like God—Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet. Christianity "has become so bogged down with cultural baggage that it has marginalized its followers. I know exactly how Anne feels: that Christianity has been hijacked."

Gabe Lyons, another Liberty University graduate, agrees. Lyons founded two influential Christian organizations, Catalyst and the Q Forum, which regularly bring together hundreds of young Christian leaders. Rice is actually in line with those decades younger than her, Lyons said, pointing to research that his organization has done that show young people between the ages of 16 and 29 see Christianity as "anti-homosexual, judgmental, hypocritical, and too political in alarming numbers."

Lyons, the author of UnChristian, added that he was pleased that Rice "was able to see the difference that so many others never do—that is, that Jesus was none of the above. The true Christian faith has never been about the points she refutes."

American Christianity is suffering from a hangover from decades of indoctrination by Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and a host of other religious leaders who falsely cloaked right-wing Republicanism in biblical principles. Worse, these leaders modeled the decidedly un-Christian behavior of treating certain groups with contempt. Even if Robertson et al. were actually justified in viewing liberals, gays, feminists, and Muslims as their enemy, their response is simply not rooted in Scripture. (See, for example, "love your enemies" and "bless those who persecute you.")

A popular bumper sticker—"I love Jesus but I hate his fan club"—reflects this growing frustration with the church among devout Christians. Something needs to change, or more Anne Rices are going to walk away. Says Merritt, who hopes Rice will reconsider her divorce from the church: "We need people like Anne Rice in the church. If she leaves, where will we find the prophetic voices that call the church back to what Jesus would want it to be?" Great question.

Kirsten Powers is a political analyst on Fox News and a writer for the New York Post. She served in the Clinton Administration from 1993-1998 and has worked in New York state and city politics. Her writing has been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the New York Observer, Salon.com, Elle magazine and American Prospect online.

Gotta Love LarkNews

NEW YORK — "Honk if you love Jesus" — and $1 million.

In a sure sign of a rebounding economy, original Christian bumper stickers have become the market's latest hot collectible, with specimens from "Not perfect, just forgiven" to the original "Jesus on board" routinely fetching $10,000 to $50,000 at auction.

"There's strong affection and demand [for classic stickers] from collectors and Christians alike," says Jeff Teague, modern collectibles expert at Christy's auction house. "That combination is driving prices to levels we haven't seen before."

The granddaddy of them all, and by far the most valuable bumper sticker in history, is the very first Christian bumper sticker: "Have you prayed today?" from 1958. Last month it sold for $1.2 million to a private investor who said he intended to frame it and hang it in his art gallery, alongside a Picasso.

"The cultural moment that bumper sticker captures is just as significant as the work of great masters," said the investor, who wished not to be identified. "And, frankly, there's not that many of these bumper stickers in good condition around anymore."

With those kinds of dollars chasing the unlikely, rectangular gems, a gold rush mentality is on in church circles. Christian sloganeers who held onto their bumper stickers — or the cars they were attached to — from the '60s and '70s stand to reap handsome profits. Some people have spent days painstakingly peeling their old "No God, no peace. KNOW God, KNOW peace" and "Turn on to Jesus" stickers off their Camaros, Pintos and Datsuns, mounting them and selling them at conventions. ("Previously applied" stickers are worth about a tenth of the value of an original, unused sticker.)

Doug Phelps couldn't believe his eyes when he saw an original 1974 "God said it. I believe it. That settles it" sticker appraised at $5,000 on PBS's "Antiques Roadshow."

"I had a dozen just like it on my guitar case" which he used during the height of the Jesus Movement, he says. The case was stowed away in a closet for 20 years. He took it to an expert, who recommended he have the stickers professionally removed and mounted. Phelps instead sold the entire case, stickers and all, to a collector who specializes in paraphernalia from the Jesus Movement, and made $14,000, enough to send his daughter to college for a year.

"I never thought those things would come back around, but I'm sure glad they did," Phelps says.

An even bigger legend in sticker lore is Lenore Crabtree, 73, of High Point, N.C., who worked in her church bookstore for 21 years. Her son used to bring home "every bumper sticker he could get his hands on" and tack them to his bedroom walls. Recently, a friend visited Crabtree and peeked into her son's old room, which is exactly as it was in 1977 when he moved out and got married.

"My knees went weak and I almost fell over," the friend says of the moment when she saw the cavalcade of bumper stickers affixed to the wall. "It was like seeing $10,000 bills everywhere."

Crabtree took the stickers to a bumper sticker convention and came away with $340,000.

"It was one of the most complete and pristine collections I have ever seen, apart from the tack holes which we consider minor blemishes," says expert Teague.

Both Crabtree and her son now live in houses near the ocean.

Some collectors have made cross-country trips in search of churches time forgot where, just maybe, they might stumble on an old stash of unsold bumper stickers in the basement or fellowship hall. Inspiring the hunt are several well-worn, true stories like Crabtree's and other small-town pastors who found they were sitting on a gold mine.

John Dignant, 31, a recent sticker aficionado, found himself driving behind a VW bus in Santa Cruz, Ca., when he saw dozens of old stickers covering the back. "I flagged the guy down and offered him $20,000 for the car on the spot," he says.

That investment turned into $720,000 in profits when Dignant sold the stickers at a convention. Instead of risking damage by peeling them off, he sold the entire rear panel of the VW. It now sits in the foyer of an artist's home in Montana, in a Plexiglass box.

"It's more than shabby chic," says the artist. "It's art that wasn't intended to be art, which is the best kind."

Celebrities have entered the mix, though many keep their passion hush-hush so the market won't skyrocket further. Billionaire businessman Phil Anschutz has invested roughly $5.3 million in a Christian bumper sticker collection, which is on display at the Denver Museum of Art through July 15. It includes a never-before-circulated "Honk if you love Jesus." Anschutz intends to start a Bumper Sticker Hall of Fame which will officially "retire" stickers which have given the Christian community years of exemplary service.

Barbra Streisand has a "small collection of 15 stickers," her publicist confirms. And Bono, who has quietly collected Christian bumper stickers for 25 years, has "around 400."

But the sticker phenomenon is dominated by amateur collectors who were lucky enough to hold onto their old stickers, and who now can drive "Jesus on board" all the way to the bank. *





*This article was taken from Lark News, because I thought it was funny.