The Need for an American Church Revival

Is it time to awaken the sleeping church today?

The American Church as a whole is a great example of this. With few exceptions, most churches in America aren't focused on what they should be focused on. We here from our pulpits that we need to tithe only 10%, that we need to come every Sunday and "get our church on," and an occasional mission trip is good for us. In short, we hear that the church is about the individual.
After all, giving 10% of your paycheck is a huge "sacrifice"...I hope you can detect the sarcasm in that.

I read something very interesting the other day. Statistical analyst's, after much research have come up with some very intriguing numbers about the Great Commission. These analysts say that if every church in America did at least two international mission trips a month to areas where the Gospel has not yet reached, the Great Commission could be accomplished within ten short years. That's TEN YEARS.

If you don't know what the Great Commission is, I'll briefly explain it. After Christ rose from the dead, He visited His disciples and told them what they were to do.

Matthew 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Those are th exact words of Christ. Other portions of the New Testament also hint that Christ will return soon after the Great Commission is accomplished.

To think that I could see Christ return in my lifetime...that is almost unbelievable. It's shocking. Only ten years...that is, if the church got its act together.

So, "is it time to awaken the sleeping church today?"
The answer is yes. The Church should always be awake...

BUT...
I do not for-see a major American Church Revival. In my opinion, the Holy Spirit has left America. We have seen throughout history that the Holy Spirit moves around the globe, to the front battle lines where Christianity has to fight for its' life. In America, we don't have to fight. The Holy Spirit is present wherever there is great opposition to the Faith...and without the Holy Spirit, revival cannot occur.

Martin Luther described this perfectly:

"If the devil were wise enough and would stand by and let the Gospel be preached, he would suffer less harm. For when there is no battle for the Gospel it rusts and it finds no cause and no occasion to show its vigor and power. Therefore, nothing better can befall the Gospel than that the world should fight it with force and cunning."

In America, Christians aren't murdered because of their beliefs daily...in China, Africa, and the Middle East however...they are. Realize that the greatest gains for Christianity today are being made where the Gospel is being most persecuted.

The Church needs to be woken up, but I do not foresee, at least anytime soon, the "Great Revival" the American Church is in desperate need of. If it does occur, it will be decades from now. Until then, we must carry on in our own "little platoons" as Chuck Colson so lovingly calls them. We must do what we can, and hope that our actions inspire those sleeping Christians around us.

This world is at war. And perhaps one of the greatest potential weapons for the Kingdom of God is the American Church. We must try to awaken it, but we must not go in with high hopes. Even if we fail, one voice crying for revival in the dark is better than no voice at all.

In Christ,
Hackett