The Church in the World

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything, but for a very good reason. God has been working on me. I’ve always believed that Christians are ‘works in progress,’ as suggested by Philippians 1:6. “And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” Until that day, we’re all ‘under construction.’

This latest chapter in my life began when I saw a headline on WorldNetDaily, a conservative news site on the Internet, about how the entire world will be Christian by the year 2032. Being somewhat skeptical, but at the same time hopeful, I read the related article by Jim Rutz, author of the book, Megashift, and founder of Megashift Ministries. In the article, Mr. Rutz stated that at its present rate of growth of eight percent per year (most everywhere in the world EXCEPT in the West!), Christianity could outgrow the entire world’s population in just 23 years. I'm not 100 percent sure how that measures up against Scripture, but the mere fact that Christianity is growing at such a rate has kept me awake nights wondering how I might become more involved in growing the kingdom of God on this earth.

I must confess that before reading Mr. Rutz’ article I had very little knowledge of how God was moving in the rest of the world. I’d been too busy complaining about how little evidence I see of the Holy Spirit working in the expressions of the Body of Christ of which I’ve been a part. Having read, however, documented accounts of miraculous conversions, spectacular healings, and even resurrections, I began to feel a stirring in my spirit to become an active part of what God is doing throughout the world. As I began to re-read the passages of Scripture describing the activities of the New Testament church in Acts and in Paul’s epistles and discovered that what is happening in other parts of the world is very similar to what happened immediately after Pentecost.

"42They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer. 43A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. 45They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. 46They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – 47all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

Compared to this passage from Acts, I see how very different the Church in America has become from the New Testament church, perhaps to its own detriment.

I’m not writing this to be critical of our Christian tradition here in America. Plenty of others have already done a noteworthy job of that. Neither am I complaining. I’m blessed to have been raised in good, Bible-teaching, God-honoring churches for most of my life. All I’m saying here is that for the first time in my life, I realize that the Body of Christ is MUCH bigger than I once thought and it encompasses many more flavors of style and function than I have heretofore been willing to accept. God is WAY bigger than any single expression of the Body of Christ. The First Community Church may have been the first of its ilk to open its doors in a particular community, but it’s only one of thousands of expressions of God’s Body throughout the world. And so is your church.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we need to look beyond the walls of our church buildings to see all that God is doing. God is at work in the world, and like it or not, He seems to be freer to operate in third-world countries than He is in the West. The good news is that we can play a role in changing that. We can play a vital role in returning to New Testament principles in our expressions of our faith.

I believe with all my heart that God is about to pour out His Spirit upon America in a way we’ve never experienced before. I believe that everything that’s happened in this great nation since 9/11, including hurricanes Katrina and Rita, has been a part of God’s preparing us to receive His Spirit. It’s more than coincidental that the name Katrina means ‘purity.’ For reasons that I will never fully understand in this life, God allowed the enemy to unleash Katrina’s fury upon the Gulf Coast, but what the devil meant to tear down, God used for cleansing and to build up.

Prophet Kim Clement delivered a word from God on September 2, 2005 in Whittier, California, concerning what God intends to do in America. “‘And when the cleansing has taken place, there will be a mighty rushing wind that shall come in and restore this Nation back to order,’ says the Lord of Hosts.” God has not given up on America, and neither should we. We need to commit to pray daily for our nation, for our President, for our leaders, and especially for our church leaders, that they will submit to God and once again give Him sovereignty over ALL things.

I am losing my job as of the end of this week. Ordinarily, I would be in a panic by now, but this time I am uncharacteristically at peace about my situation. God has been preparing me for something, and even though I don’t know what, I am confident that He will bring it to pass in His perfect timing. I have been praying that God would give me a vital role in His what He is doing in the Church in the world, and I fully believe that this is all a part of His plan. I expect to have some incredibly exciting news to share with you in my next post.

Until then, remember than a true believer never stands taller than when he is on his knees.