“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18,19)
Was 2016 kinda dry?
May this year be a year of refreshing and renewal!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Astrophysics is a trip. One of the very interesting things I have discovered is the concept of entropy. Entropy is the measure of chaos and decay that is evident in any physical system that does not experience new infusions of energy. For instance, let us consider the universe: the great majority of scientists agree that this system (the universe as a whole) is slowing down and cooling, as its original energy (from the big bang) dissipates through the vastness of space, over time. This leads to more and more random, and less ordered systems — and if left to itself, will one day result in the death of the universe.
And as is so often true in creation, the created order is a sort of metaphor or parable pointing to greater realities in the spiritual realm. It is clear to me that the human race as a whole (and the Church specifically) is constantly struggling against the encroachment of spiritual entropy. If you look at the history of the Church, you will see a number of explosions or infusions of God’s Glory, Power and Love that have seemed, at least for a season, to jump-start and re-invigorate a very anemic (and increasingly entropic) Church.
The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost might (metaphorically) be compared to the big bang. It was this power-infusion and explosion that made the third member of the Trinity available to humanity as a whole (BOOM!). And from this explosion, the Church was birthed. And since that time, there have been many seasons of increasing entropy, interrupted and transformed by glorious infusions of God’s Presence — and these infusions we call revivals. A few of the great ones are the Reformation, the Great Awakenings, the Welsh Revival and the Azusa Street Revival.
And one of the things that I believe the Holy Spirit pointed out to me regarding this process of entropy and revival, is that one of the reasons the Church in America is so lifeless, is that it has relied more on entropy-management than seeking to be revived. I see it all the time: church-growth seminars, problem-solving seminars, pain-management programs, etc. Don’t get me wrong — in some ways, for a good number of people, these things have been helpful and effective. The problem is that such things will never be enough to reverse the relentless march of spiritual entropy in the Church as a whole. As we continue to meet and strategize, church membership continues to dwindle. As we continue to meet in 12-step programs and divorce-recovery gatherings, addiction and family brokenness become more and more pandemic.
I am not saying that we should stop all such gatherings and attempts. What I am saying is that such attempts at entropy management will never be enough. They were never meant to be enough! And I believe that God is waiting for enough people to come to an end of themselves and their own abilities and management schemes and entropy-control attempts, and cry out in true desperation for the one and only thing that can turn things around — true, God-inspired, Jesus-centered, Holy Spirit-infused revival.
BUT…having a culturally relevant message is not enough. It has never been enough. It was never meant to be enough. The same Paul who mentioned being all things to all men also said this:“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-6)
Relevance was never meant to be a destination, merely a tool and a vehicle. The real destination is true transformation. And this transformation cannot happen without the power and anointing of God. We can make a lot of mistakes and missteps culturally (and in our attempts at communication) and still see marvelous transformation when the power of God shows up.
A great example is William Seymour, God’s point man for the great Azusa Street Revival in 1906. People came from all over the world to attend these meetings. And I am sure that Reverend Seymour was tempted to make a good impression and to bridge with the crowd (as we all would be), and yet instead, he obeyed the Holy Spirit when the Spirit told him to sit on the platform (sometimes for an hour or more) with a box on his head, while the people were waiting for him to speak. (doh!) And there was every kind of reaction among those sitting in the congregation, from awe to curiosity to mockery. But when William sensed the Holy Spirit releasing him to take the box off his head, he would take it off and say something like this (pointing at a group of maybe 50 people in wheelchairs to his left): “You are all healed in the name of Jesus.” Then there would be the loud sound of bones popping and people shouting and crying and laughing and EVERYONE in wheelchairs would rise up healed!
The power and impact of this revival has continued to resonate throughout the world, ushering in a new era of the power and reality of Pentecost that is responsible for hundreds of millions of people being saved globally. And this is just one example of how the power of God can trump a lack of relevance. Evan Roberts, one of the main leaders associated with the Welsh Revival, would sometimes speak nothing at all at a meeting, even though many had come to hear him speak. He did not want to get in the way of the Holy Spirit moving in the meeting, even at the risk of initially disappointing those in attendance. He was not concerned with the opinions of men – only the opinion of God.
Yes, relevance is useful — and we should never purposely seek to alienate people or be weird for weird’s sake. But in an age of church growth and relevance seminars, so much effort and time and money is spent on the vehicle and the style of our delivery, and so little time and effort is spent pressing into God for the power and anointing of true transformation. And so the Church in America continues to shrink in size, drowning in a sea of cultural relevance while at the same time becoming more and more spiritually irrelevant.
“It is extraordinary spiritual unction, not extraordinary mental power, that we need. Mental power may gather a large congregation, but only spiritual power will save souls.” (Charles Spurgeon)
O that in me the sacred fire
Might now begin to glow!
Burn up the dross of base desire,
And make the mountains flow!
(Charles Wesley)
loon watchman 