I normally write a post weekly. Lately I’ve been compelled to write twice a week and shorter more concise posts, but I’m admittedly, dragging my feet on posting twice. Loretta and I are under a stifling work schedule for the next 60 days that may well be extended an additional month or two.
This past month has provided numerous potential topics for me to write about and the past day I’ve been contemplating which idea to pursue next. This was Day 2 of the “60 day push”and after supper while mowing the back fairway that was long overdue, I was mulling over Malcolm Gladwell’s book “The Tipping Point” recommended to me Tuesday by a most energetic local 21 year old entrepreneur. Only halfway through it now, it has proven quite interesting on many fronts, especially as I relate it to church revitalization-growth. I presume the classic example of the Church so engaged in a “tipping point” phenomenal was following the Acts of the Apostles and the Churches first several hundred years prior to Constantine, though there have been minor incidents (revivals) since. But not in North America recently at least, of noteworthy mention.
Gladwell speaks of the three rules of epidemics, with large volumes of supporting statistics, for such as the Hush Puppy shoe resurgence, the ride of Paul Revere, how Sesame Street began and why, the phenomenal rise and fall of NYC crime during the 80’s-90’s,the unbelievable revitalization of the NYC subway system, etc. And all the while I’m thinking so what’s up with this often lack-luster NA church we’re all experiencing, after all, the Church is not (at least, I don’t think that’s what Jesus intended) a “conventional” business endeavor and subject necessarily to all the statistics Gladwell spews in support of his theories.
In fact, the Church as Christ intended it, was to divide and conquer while populating this earth, and was set in motion by the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ and followed by sending His Holy Spirit to communicate His Presence and Purposes to enable us as faith facilitators in His Kingdom.
Now contrast “The Tipping Point” to another idea rattling around in my head since last week. In Robert Morris’s book “Frequency” in Chapter Nine, “Hearing God’s Voice For Others”, he gives this following account that occurred in Seattle’s Westgate Chapel. . Since I never heard of Alec Rowlands, I just googled him at his church website and listened to his last Sunday’s (August 25) sermon titled “Antidote For the Plague.” Amazing man of God who speaks truth that I’ll share later.
Starting on page 167, “Pastor Alec Rowlands, in his helpful book, The Presence, tells of a time when he heard a word from the Lord through another person. It happen fairly early on in his ministry at Westgate Chapel in Seattle, the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, one of the most pagan regions of America. Alec and his wife, Rita, had been at the church for four years, and the honeymoon of the recruitment phrase was over, and discouragement and frustration had set in.
The church seemed caught in a rut. Alec had preached about prayer and had constantly emphasized the necessity and wonderment of being in the presence of God, but the response from the congregation seemed unenthusiastic and even stifled. About 1300 people attended the church in those days, but only about 30 people could be coaxed to come out to each midweek prayer meeting.
One sleepy Sunday morning during the 9 AM service, everything seemed to go off as planned. The congregation sang some songs of worship. Alec introduce the visiting missionary. The offering was given. Alex delivered the sermon. This Sunday seem like any other Sunday. The 11:00 AM service began the same way. But then something changed.
Right after the worship portion of the service, one man in the balcony remained standing. Alec knew him to be a godly man. He and his family had been involved with the church for several years, and the man was in community with other godly believers at the church and demonstrably under the authority of the church leadership. Alec knew him to be a man of prayer with a tremendous heart for worship.
The man began speaking from the balcony. Having unplanned speeches such as this wasn’t a regular occurrence at Westlake, although it had happened every now and again. The man wasn’t speaking frantically or ecstatically, so Alex let it continue. The man simply spoke with reference to Luke 8:4-12 about how various“soil’s” were present in the congregation, meaning that people were spiritually receptive in different capacities. The man spoke of God’s word breaking through, and he encouraged the congregation that the receptive soil would find a reason to rejoice, and God would bring forth fruit from the word planted in good soil. Then the man sat down.
Alex described what he saw:
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“When the man sat down, I looked out across the congregation – and to this day what I saw I find hard to explain. Most in the congregation, main floor and balcony, were weeping. Some spontaneously gathered into small groups across the sanctuary and begin to pray. Some stood to their feet, eyes closed, faces directed to heaven. Others lifted their hands before God, like a toddler reaching for a parent’s love. Several hundred headed out of their seats for the altar area where they knelt to pray. No one had given any directive from the pulpit. I was concerned that anything I might do or say would disrupt the work God was so obviously doing. After a long while I went to the microphone and said, “God’s not done, and we’re not going to interfere with what he’s doing. Please just keep your heart open and surrender to him.” I sat down.
For the next forty-five minutes God took charge. I didn’t preach. I didn’t introduce the missionaries. The soloist didn’t sing. We didn’t take an offering. We all just went to prayer. Finally, when those who had been in the altar area headed back to their seats, I went to the microphone and gave an altar call for those who have never given their lives to Christ. Twenty-five people came forward. That service was normally over at 12:30. By 1 o’clock the sanctuary was still full. Nobody wanted to leave. By 2 o’clock it was still more than half full. The people continued in quiet prayer and worship. God’s presence broke through in an unusual way that day.
With the boards backing, the next Sunday we called for a solemn assembly to take place at the church the following Wednesday evening. Based on my track record I remember thinking I’d be happy if a hundred people showed up. You can imagine my surprise that Wednesday night, when I walked out of my study into the sanctuary to find the main floor and the balcony of our church packed. It was such a confirmation for me that this was a God-thing.”
More than twenty years later Alex described how that word from the Lord through the man in the balcony acted as a turning point for the entire church. Everything changed after that. Prayer changed. Worship changed. The atmosphere in the congregation changed. The staff changed. From that point onward to this day, an emphasis on prayer remains a constant in that church.
My friends, the Holy Spirit walks alongside us. He dwells within us, guiding us into all truth. He doesn’t want to be silent; He wants to have an intimate, communicative relationship with us. As we walk with Him, He will speak to us and give us words, and sometimes these words will be for us. And at other times those words will be for the edification of others. Prophecy is never to be manipulative or used for selfish gain. It’s another confirmation that God is at work in our midst.
My prayer for all of us is that we would learn to hear God’s voice clearly and then act with confidence upon the impressions from the Holy Spirit that we receive. Let us become gracious sons and daughters of encouragement for his names sake. Amen.
Merlin speaking again. This is my heart for our churches. No, we do not need a tipping point per se as far as numbers, but we do need a spiritual maturity in our ranks, men and women seeking daily and hourly the Presence and Purposes of God in our hearts and minds as we obey Him as we disciple seekers. What happened in the story above was helped by there being fertile soil in that congregation. We must not merely park and be comfortable in our box (pew)
For what it’s worth, I have encouraged sadly only a handful of others thus far, to take the phenomenal (new favorite word for me tonight it seems) prayer guide book by Tony Souder titled “Pray For Me” and use it daily to pray for our congregations. After I pray for the student I’ve been assigned, I go back and repeat the process and identify “everyone at KMC” in my daily prayer for our church. Tony has written 13 weeks of daily prayers in what he calls The Seven Essentials: Favor, Wisdom, Love, Faith, Purity, Speech and Conduct. The statistics for daily Bible reading and prayer for Christians during the week is dismal. Prayer meetings are fast disappearing, actually are extinct now. If you are serious about living a joyful Christian life, I suggest you do as I did nearly four years ago now.
1.) Set an appointment daily when you’ll meet with God,
2.) Be still and worship,
3.) Read and Pray, and
4.) Listen and Write! Yes, I guess I took that number four “listen and write” a bit too far. I had a rocky start though. It took several years to get the routine down but now, I’ll do it for life.
And once more, this is too long! 1700 words! But finished in less than three hours!
Blessings as YOU GO FORTH as you discover your “tipping point” for Jesus, and His Presence and His Purposes for YOU!! merlin