6 Risks of Leading a Reformation

This is a raw, timely message to the church regarding the risk necessary to see revival come to a region.

imageI'd like to encourage you to read Piece of Cake which is a guide for those who are called to move into ministry—but are nervous and hesitant.

In the midst of writing from the prayer room, I found myself compelled to share some of my journey with you—the successes and failures, the joys and the troubles.

There will always be extreme pressure to adjust your vision, sometimes ever so slightly, to be more appealing to others, but it’s this adjustment that will put your entire mission at jeopardy.

I’ll just say it—when God gives you your mandate, you must be both humble and stubborn—and no matter how humble you are, your stubborn disposition will invite trouble. Convincing arguments from wonderful people can lead you to compromise. Don’t do it. Love people in your stubborn, unmoving determination to obey God. In ministry, there are negotiables and non-negotiables. Never move on the non-negotiable vision God has called you to steward.

RISK

I believe there is a remnant, a very small army of prayer-devoted awakeners, who will respond to the mission God put into my spirit years ago.

So, what is the risk? Most would say, “Just go for it! Develop a ministry that gathers together those end-time firebrands!”

I absolutely agree, and we are attempting to do just that. But, there is significant risk when we consider what we are talking about here.

The purpose of this article is to help you eliminate fears and compromises as you develop your ministry. A fulfilled mission is required!

  1. Mission Confusion

    One of the most difficult barriers to overcome when developing a ministry according to a fresh but unfamiliar vision is the “supposed to’s.”

    In our Western church culture, there are numerous focuses, ministries, attitudes and functions that are just “supposed to” be a significant part of the ministry. When attention isn’t given to what others presume are non-negotiable, discord and accusation can quickly enter the camp. Many leaders (most) will diplomatically, democratically attempt to avoid discord by entertaining these arguments in the name of unity. However, the result is false-unity around the desires of people instead of true unity around the mandates of God. How can you tell the difference? False unity is inclusive of all, true unity requires agreement that most are unwilling to adhere to.

    Under Moses, there was accusation that he was most interested in his vision to enter the Promised Land, and that he wasn’t concerned for his people and their safety. Their arguments were convincing—and they won the argument—and then died in the desert.

    I once went through a trying season that highlights this point very well.

    Our mandate has always been unique. As a ministry of reformation, it is by design entertaining disruption and recalibration, and this will always cause trouble. I won’t go into the details, but suffice it to say that God gave me a very clear prophetic word when I was leading a ministry in Colorado to transition from ministering to people to ministering to him. I was to vertically focus on God and draw others into that encounter with me. That vision is quite offensive as it takes the primary focus off of people and puts it on God.

    As a result, our ministry would not look like a typical one and would not focus on many of the expected ministries that you find in other churches and ministries. When we went through our trying time, there were some amazing friends who were wired a bit differently, and who were seeking some ministry focuses that were good, but not what we were to facilitate. There was confusion in the camp as I was running one way and they wanted to run in a slightly different direction.

    It was presumed that our church, or any church, was “supposed to” be pastor led with a focus on community. Revival Church was Apostle led with a focus on intercession. Mostly vertical with a little horizontal. Our friends saw a lack of focus on community, and the lack of pastoral ministry, as a problem while we saw it as intentional and core to our mission. I’m so blessed to have Barbara Yoder as our spiritual covering. She and her team have gone to great lengths to communicate that their church is not a “family church” but rather a regional equipping center. They are key in the reformation from one system to another. The family church is the expected norm today, and it does truly take quite an effort of vision casting to break through that expectation.

    To see reformation, you will have to work hard to cast the vision, and then to stay true to it. Our culture of fiery intercession and equipping awakeners has resulted in a surprising and deep community of people that love one another and who are keeping their gaze upon the Lord together! We have burning ones who pray as their primary ministry, and enjoy doing it with friends and family around them.

    At the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, you don’t see a lot of hanging out for the sake of hanging out, but you do see people in the prayer room together ministering to the Lord. That culture is a problem for those who don’t crave to pray, but can you imagine IHOP bending to develop a culture that doesn’t emphasize prayer? It’s nonsensical. But, it’s only nonsensical now because they have gone through much trial and trouble to set their culture. They stayed true to the mandate even when it was confusing to more traditional Christians.
  2. Resources

    When you adhere to God’s risky vision, you are at great risk of losing the resources of the majority. Since an apostolic spirit of reformation is initiating change to the status quo, the high majority of those who still value the status quo will not invest in your vision.

    The cash flow of your church or ministry is absolutely at risk of slowing to a crawl. Are you OK with that? Pastors may have to surrender their security and salaries, get secular jobs and trust that God will truly provide—because many people will stop giving.

    They will also not show up. They won’t run with you. Are you OK with that or will you look for a happy medium that’s appealing to the majority?

    If you pray for a remnant, don’t be surprised when a remnant shows up—and the majority leaves. I absolutely do want many to contend with us for revival, but, I am willing to sacrifice their investment for the sake of staying true to our mission.

    I have a lot of weaknesses. That’s not false-humility, it’s true. Just ask my wife! However, I am convinced that I am skilled just enough to grow a church, with the right team, to possibly 250. We had a church consultant years ago that said we had what it took to grow a church to 300-400.

    Why and I revealing this? To let you know how easy it might be to sacrifice the mission for the sake of personal satisfaction.

    A church of 250 would ensure that I would have a great salary and the ability to pay other key staff members. We would also have significant resources to grow and facilitate additional ministries. We’d have the people and the money to do much. It would feel great to be ‘successful’ in the eyes of man.

    In our recent trial, some friends were focused on church growth and on creating a vibrant, exciting atmosphere with people who were deeply connected to one another. This sounds great! And, I actually want this too. However, this is very important—that goal is not the goal. It is actually more of a desire than a strategic focus.

    Yes, a lot of people gathering together each week can be very good, but I had already made the decision that we would not compromise the vision for the sake of resources—be it money or people or an energetic environment. I’m willing to run with a remnant and keep investing outside of the ministry to help pay the bills.

    The resources this ministry needs are burning, interceding prayer warriors who minister to God night and day. Any compromise of the vision would ensure those people won’t show up. I’ve counted the cost, and that is my goal, no matter how great the challenge or how injurious it is to my ego, energy, time or ability to grow. In fact, the humility and challenge does me good.
  3. Lack of Momentum

    Small numbers and minimal buy-in are extremely hard for many people to look past. Staying the course on the way to mission fulfillment will result in that small remnant running with you, and for some, small numbers look like failure. The momentum won’t be there. That in itself can result in lost hope. This is not good! This is why unity around the vision is so critical. You must have buy in from those who are running with you.

    Again, the vision is NOT a large group of people. It’s a fulfilled mission! I have to communicate this so false-expectations don’t result in frustration.

    At one point in our ministry, our worship team moved on, and this is when we decided to hold off on finding a new one. We decided to lead the services in prayer. I knew numbers would drop, and they did. I also knew that I had a job ahead of me of communicating the true vision. Our vision is not to add people, and I had to make that clear. Anybody, including myself, loves a big crowd. There’s some sense of accomplishment when that happens. Momentum is addictive. However, it really is not the goal. I have led ministries that had decent sized crowds, and a sense of momentum, but I was grieved. We were growing with people who didn’t fully buy into the mission.

    Trust me, I’d rather function without visible momentum while running with a few who are all in than with a crowd of people who are mostly there because of the experience. This is a huge point!

    That being said, I am looking forward to the day when many buy into the vision and we actually see stadiums filled with burning intercessors! Now, that’s momentum! But, I don’t want to see a stadium filled with people who are only there for the experience. I’d rather buy a ticket to an NFL game at packed stadium and be legitimately entertained than attempt to spiritualize an electric quasi-worship-fest with an arena full of interested but non-invested people.

    If we want momentum, we can create momentum. Just gather people around a self-satisfying, entertaining message and slap the name of Jesus on it. Or, you can reveal the costly, deadly message of the cross and call people to a life of inconvenient intercession and spend years and decades creating a prayer movement. I choose the latter.
  4. Invisible Realities are Invisible Nonetheless

    The true church is a supernatural church. When you start leading people into the invisible, you will lose those who walk by sight and not by faith.

    I often counsel pastors and others to check on who really is and who is not with them. Is their team invested in the vision? The way to do this is simple—throw a prayer meeting and develop a prayer culture. Create an environment for your leaders where only those who are walking in the spirit can keep up with you. Those who are living according to the flesh, or who are leaning on their own understanding instead of living in the spirit will be quickly exposed.

    The desire for unbiblical community (as opposed to biblical community) is a result of focusing on the visible more than the invisible. I regularly encourage people to get their satisfaction from the invisible, spiritual realm primarily—be with God and encounter him daily! The person that truly follows that advice is rare indeed.

    True, biblical community actually exists in the spirit realm! In the invisible realm!

    The problem with leading people into the invisible realm? Those people have to invest radically into a life of consecration, fervent prayer and going deep in God. Those who don’t do this won’t even understand where you are going or how to follow. Leading a spiritual church requires a spiritual people. For those are are invested at a lesser level, they will struggle, and usually leave. It is hard to lead a supernatural church.

    Understand, I’m not talking about a church where the supernatural manifests in the natural, I mean a supernatural church that exists in the invisible realm. Those who truly walk in the spirit aren’t focused on physical manifestations nearly as much as they are encountering God in the spirit.

    It feels quite spiritual to cry out for God to manifest in our natural realm, but his desire is for us to manifest in his supernatural realm. The call isn’t “on heaven as it is on earth,” but “on earth as it is in heaven.”
  5. Not so Friendly Fire

    There is a temptation to minimize the cost when moving out into a mission. However, a revolution is bloody. It’s not for the weak minded, or those who are looking for personal affirmation or a lot of friends. You absolutely will be slandered, attacked, accused, talked about, mocked and ridiculed. When you don’t lead the way that others believe you should, trouble follows.

    The reason this point is so important to understand is that the enemy is extremely proficient at using the fear of friendly fire to keep leaders in alignment with his unholy plans.

    You better be good at separating out people and devils! We cannot wrestle against flesh and blood. It’s extremely important for me to be able to easily, without issue, give those who have wounded me a big hug if I ever saw them again! That is the goal! The friendly fire will come, often through well meaning people who just don’t know how to facilitate their grievances. If you are afraid of the attack, you will compromise your mission before you even begin.

    False-expectations will lead people to, at times, become quite fierce in their resistance. Since you are bringing reformation to a system they may value, you better get ready for a spiritual battle!

    Gossip is revenge. I often teach on this, and I mention that I can most always feel the spirit of gossip, even when I have no natural indicators that its taking place. It’s a spirit of witchcraft, and I am very alert to that demon.

    I’ll be very raw and honest with you. It’s grieving, but nonetheless a reality in my life—I am gossiped about a lot. I feel it. My family feels it. The wounds are real. It’s usually spiritualized gossip—wonderful people sharing their concerns about our ministry’s lack of ‘balance’ with other wonderful people. The spirit of Absalom is crafty—it highlights often accurate analysis about a leader, and it devises a plan to cause what they want to come to pass—or else.

    You cannot avoid this! Stay humble and full of love. I was talking to a national leader once about a website that was fully devoted to communicating the author’s issues with him. It was vile. He even secured the domain of that leader’s name! He was intent on exposing and destroying. He was frustrated, mad, hurt and in disagreement with this leader. He used scripture to “back up” his claims and gathered other people around him to discredit the leader.

    What was the leader’s response me when I asked him about it? He said God sent that man as a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble. Friendly fire turned to good!

    Mike Bickle at IHOP has regularly been accused of not caring about people or creating an environment where people can socially connect with one another. What his accusers didn’t understand was that God was requiring him to develop a reformed culture where ministry to God was primary, and any ministry that stole focus from that had to be tabled until it could be developed in such a way that it supported the prayer movement.

    Mike wasn’t anti-community, he was anti-distraction. He was guarding the main thing. However, the assaults against him have been merciless. Thank God, Mike has stayed the course and hasn’t compromised the mission of intercession for the nations.
  6. High Potential of Failure

    If you fear failure, you better find another line of work!

    I’ll give you a glimpse into my book Piece of Cake where I address this issue in detail. Keep in mind, it’s a rough draft and I will be adding to it as I get closer to completing the book:

    Chapter Two

    Sweet Failure!

    Yes, you are going to fail. Go ahead and wrestle with it now, you can’t avoid it. I don’t mean ultimate failure, of course. But, I do mean that you will pray much, do your best to gain insight from God, consider your best options, seek wisdom from others and then move out with at least a measure of confidence—and you will experience failure!

    Most young ministers crave for others to presume them to be successful and steady with a pipeline directly into the command center of Heaven. The reality? We see in part. We understand little. We have clarity on a small part of the big picture, and when we initiate action, others will watch as we stumble and struggle. Are you OK with that?

    Thomas Edison said, “Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless.” Quoted in Artifacts: An Archaeologist's Year in Silicon Valley (2001) by Christine Finn. p. 90

    Your job is not to be so careful that you avoid failure, it’s to be instant in obedience! In fact, failure is sweet when you learn how to handle the pressure it brings. Failure is an effective and desirable teacher. You may actually find yourself enjoying the various failures you experience, as a researcher would in a laboratory, in your pursuit toward efficiency and success. Really, the main thing standing in the way of the sweetness of failure is pride. If our goal is to impress people instead of developing ministries that set them free, we have no business even considering entering into a ministry project. We need to mature a little bit more first.

    One of the most prevalent issues that I come across on a regular basis is the fear of missing God. Often people feel led to initiate a ministry, or to make a move in that direction, and they are afraid of being outside of God’s plan. This is a legitimate concern, but fear should not drive us. Wisdom should.

    There was a time when I was living the life as a youth pastor in a church in the San Diego area. It was amazing! I was at the beach every Thursday and had a stress free, invigorating position in the church. I had full liberty to develop the youth department according to my vision and ideas. After a year and a half in that church I was offered a position in a large church in the Dallas area. It was a completely different environment, and making such a move would be a huge decision. I felt I had confirmation and I was excited about the possibilities this new opportunity presented, but I was afraid of missing God.

    A good friend of mine gave me some of the most simple yet most profound and life changing advice I had ever received. He simply quoted scripture and said, “The steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord.”

    The revelation was instant. If I was living a righteous life, and was making righteous decisions, God would order my steps—even if and when I ever made a misstep! The fear and pressure of making a wrong decision lifted off of me! I have used that counsel countless times in my life sense. When I feel led to make a decision, I ensure I’m living in righteousness and am doing my due diligence through prayer and seeking counsel, and then I step! I trust that God will direct my steps, and if I’m off track a little bit, he will lovingly guide me back. It’s really a glorious way to live!

    As I do this, I am fully confident that a lot of sweet failure is ahead of me, and I learn how to stay joyful and teachable as I learn from every ministry experiment.

    Keep in mind, I am not advising a haphazard life. That will only cause you unnecessary frustration. Measure your decisions and step according to wisdom as you live in the spirit, and refuse to fear knowing that both temporary failures and ultimate victory are both ahead!

    I’ve heard it said that we should make quick, pretty good decisions as opposed to calculated, perfect ones. Using this book as an example, I could have pulled out various resources, created a perfect outline, pondered it for a few months and eventually start writing. But, instead, my quick, pretty good decision has resulted in writing chapter two just one day after I started designing and writing the book. If my schedule allows, I can have this entire book written, in less than perfect but fully acceptable form, in just a few days! I’m literally sitting here in the prayer room unsure of what I will write next, but that’s OK. My goal is to pour out my heart, get the message out and move on to the next project sooner than later.

    I have no fear of failure. Many will enjoy this book, many won’t get past the first chapter and many will think it’s a ridiculous concept and never pick it up. That is OK! There are people who will be unlocked into their destiny and that is all that matters!

    I’ll share another failure with you. I value the advance of the Kingdom through church and house of prayer planting. I personally love the process of starting with nothing and watching God build a ministry that truly touches lives.

    While leading Revival Church in the Detroit region, my family and I moved about thirty minutes north by the apple orchards. It is a different environment than where our church is, and I felt the birthing and planting bug start to buzz in me again. So, we planted Revival Church North in my living room.

    We met for several weeks on Sunday mornings and drew a handful of interested people, but, I could sense early on that the necessary traction wasn’t there. Just as quickly as I decided to plant the church, I punted. It was fourth down and we could go for it or we could admit failure and move on to the next project. If I was walking in pride, I would have fought to keep it going, but, rather, it was easy for me to let it go. That plant failed. So what? Clearly it wasn’t meant to be, and that’s OK. Believe it or not, I lost literally zero emotional energy through that process. I woke up the next day and refocused, prayed more and talked to God about next steps. There was still much burning in me and there are missions to attend to.

    Thomas Edison said, “None of my inventions came by accident. I see a worthwhile need to be met and I make trial after trial until it comes.” Statement in a press Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Alexis Carrel & Charles Lindbergh (conference (1929), as quoted in Uncommon Friends: Life with 1987) by James D. Newton, p. 24

    If there is a need that you are picking up on, get to work! Trial and error are both your friend! Don’t allow a spirit of insignificance to keep you from being the one that God wants to use to bring transformation, whether it’s in leading a Sunday School class, developing a Kingdom business, starting a church or doing anything else God is leading you to do!

    Remember Gideon? All he knew was that he was the weakest and the least, yet all God called him was mighty man of valor! Gideon was cowardly, as was his entire community. They were in hiding from their enemy, afraid of losing their crops, their livelihood.

    Judges 6:14-16 (ESV) 14 And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

    This is God’s call to you! Don’t fear! Don’t fear failure! God had ordered your steps you mighty man of valor! Don’t wait for others to affirm you, you will be waiting for decades possibly! Don’t wait for the perfect plan. Gideon advanced with one percent of the army available to him and told them to blow their trumpets and smash their jars. That doesn’t sound like a good plan at all, but it was what God led them to do. God has a Gideon’s army waiting for you to have the courage to respond immediately with an imperfect plan and an insufficient army to lead them into their destiny!

    Remember that failure is an event, not a person. ~Zig Ziglar

You are invited to a Thanksgiving in July Feast at Revival Church

Join us THIS SATURDAY at 7pm for a night of celebration, teaching and FOOD!

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This is our GRAND OPENING WEEKEND, and we are so blessed and thankful that it made a lot of sense to us to through a THANKSGIVING IN JULY FEAST and invite the city to celebrate with us!

We will enjoy about an hour of worship and teaching this Saturday, July 27th beginning at 7pm, and immediately following we will make new friends as we fellowship around the table together!

If you’ve never been, or have yet to visit us in our new location, THIS INVITATION IS FOR YOU!

You are absolutely more than welcome to come empty handed, though, if you’d like, you are welcome to bring:

  1. A main course item (like a casserole or meat)
  2. A side item OR a dessert

If a bunch of us bring two items to share with everybody, we should have more food than we can handle—and that is how we create a feast!

We already have the ham ordered, and we have already heard rumors of some seriously amazing food that is already being prepared!

We are sure to enjoy a great night of thanking God together!

RICHARD CRISCO THIS SUNDAY!

Part two of our GRAND OPENING WEEKEND takes place on Sunday at 7pm.

We are honored to have Pastor Richard Crisco with us Sunday night. He will bring the fire of God and your very life is at risk!

Get ready to be rocked by the power of God in a way that you will never forget!

Bring your friends and family both on Saturday and Sunday!

Revival Church is located at 26091 Sherwood, Warren, MI 48091.

Check out www.explorerevival.com for more info!

Grand Opening weekend feast & encounter with Richard Crisco

Revival Church’s VERY SPECIAL Grand Opening Weekend • Thanksgiving in July FEAST on Saturday, Richard Crisco on Sunday!

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YOU are invited!

We are beyond thankful to the Lord for everything he has done in our ministry over the last few months and the last few years!

image THANKSGIVING IN JULY

THIS SATURDAY, July 27th at 7pm, we will begin with about an hour of amazing prayer and teaching on a lifestyle of enjoyable prayer. THEN, we will start the banquet!

We felt strongly impressed that we are in a season of thanksgiving—for the exhilarating new season of ministry we are in, our great friends and our new ministry center!

We will supply a Thanksgiving style ham, and all you have to do is:

Bring TWO items to share with everybody:

  1. A main dish (like a casserole or meat)
  2. A side item (salad, veggies, etc.) OR a dessert (pumpkin pie, cake, cookies)

You can store everything in the kitchen during our short service just before the meal begins!

BROWNSVILLE REVIVAL LEADER RICHARD CRISCO

SUNDAY, July 28th at 7pm, we are honored to welcome Richard Crisco to Revival Church!

He carries a powerful anointing of revival, so come extremely expectant and ready for God to burn like a fire!

Revival Church is located at 26091 Sherwood, Warren, MI 48091.

Get directions and more info at www.explorerevival.com.

See you THIS WEEKEND!

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What to expect: What makes Revival Church different?

There is a new prayer-driven model of church that is emerging—and tonight you can enjoy a small taste of it.

JOIN US TONIGHT at 7pm for our first service in our new property! Revival Church is located at 26091 Sherwood, Warren, MI 48091.

Being different for the sake of being different has no real value—but, shifting back to the ancient model of the prayer-driven church does feel quite different as it has been forgotten for so long.

Prayer is simply being with the Lover of our souls. Tonight I will be teaching on this amazing, wondrous life of intimacy with Jesus. Get ready!

This is our first service in our new property, and our focus, more than ever, is facilitating an atmosphere of fiery prayer within a culture of equipping.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT REVIVAL CHURCH

image Revival

We believe God wants to arrive in weighty glory in the Detroit region—in such a way that the addicted are freed, the depressed are suddenly joyful and the hungry are filled. I believe the move of God that we have an opportunity to participate in will be so shocking that news cameras from around the world will be on scene to capture the outpouring.

With this in mind, we understand that no move of God has ever launched without an unusual and consistent prayer culture.

The Service

While we know a powerful worship movement will function at Revival Church, it simply cannot trump a foundation of continual intercession. In fact, the prayer meetings in our nation are so weak because they are relegated to second (or third, or fourth!) place in the strategy of the church. Prayer meetings usually take place on off nights instead of during the primary service.

With this in mind, our services often start with music playing in the atmosphere behind us as we fervently pray as a church! Where you might expect a worship leader, you’ll see a prayer leader.

After a time of intercession and often times personal ministry, we move into teaching and more personal ministry.

Additionally, at 6pm, with coffee in our hands (optional!) we launch into 45 minutes of prayer to set the stage for the night. You are encouraged to join us! Tonight! 6pm!

The City Church

We value the city church, and our heart is to run with other local churches as intercessors for Detroit. We have been in over 70 Detroit region churches to lead prayer events, and that is the template we’d like to see set over this city.

Lets all gather together often to pray somewhere in the city! Every Friday we do have an opportunity for you to hit the streets of downtown Detroit, or to join us in another church to pray! We have been doing this for years, and I also did the same thing when I was leading a church in Colorado Springs. It’s powerful!

Check out our calendar for upcoming events! www.thelabdetroit.com/events

24/7 Church

If you’ve read my book 20 Elements of Revival, you’ll know we believe in the emergence of the 24/7 church. We will be invested in ministry to God every day!

You can run with us 5 nights a week in prayer and teaching at Revival Church, with much more to come!

RICHARD CRISCO IS COMING IN TWO WEEKS!

Tonight is opening night, but July 27-28 is even better—it’s our GRAND OPENING WEEKEND!

Saturday, July 27th at 7pm there will be a short time of prayer and teaching followed by a FEAST! Bring food to share
Sunday, July 28th at 7pm Richard Crisco will join us in our prayer-fueled atmosphere of fire! Spread the word!

Revival Church is located at 26091 Sherwood, Warren, MI 48091.

Opening Night at Revival Church tomorrow, Saturday, July 13th at 7pm!

Experience an atmosphere of intimacy, intercession and passionate teaching in our new prayer-fueled setting in Warren!

image Tomorrow is a special night and YOU are invited to celebrate with us!

Revival Church is serious about seeing prayer returned to first place in the church—and in the main church service.

Tomorrow night you will experience a fiery atmosphere of intimate prayer and passionate decrees just before I bring a message on our eternal perspective. We can be intimate with Jesus FOREVER—starting NOW!

COME EARLY

The coffee will be ready at 6pm, and you can enjoy it with friends, or you can bring it into the Prep Room for fiery pre-service prayer!

Revival Church is located at 26091 Sherwood, Warren, MI 48091.

■ MONDAY-WEDNESDAY

We are adding three BRAND NEW prayer and teaching nights to the calendar!

■ Mondays Night Teaching on Historic Revivals • 7-9pm • Beginning July 15th
just what did it take for revival to break out through some of history’s most remarkable leaders?

■ Tuesday Night Teaching on Intimacy & The Tabernacle • 7-9pm • Beginning July 16th
This 13-week class will transform your life!

On Tuesday nights we will peer into God’s incredible passion to commune with His own people as seen through the design and structure of the Tabernacle. Each detail in the cloth, the furniture, the spices, the offerings and priests of the Tabernacle foreshadow what was to come in Jesus Christ.  Get a copy of, “Seeing Christ in the Tabernacle” by Ervin Hershberger for $4.99 on Amazon Kindle and read  the first chapter, “Ark of the Covenant” as we explore these amazing images of Jesus Christ.

■ Wednesday Night Bible Study • 7-9pm • Beginning July 17th
“I have written to you, young men (and women), Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.”   – 1Jn 2.14b

As I prayed for God’s direction for the Wednesday night Bible study, I heard one simple 1-syllable word in my spirit…”strong”.  It’s so easy for many of us to hear a good word or a good teaching and we receive it with great emotion.  And it’s great to receive the truth of God’s Word with joy.  The truths regarding His unending love and mercy and even His redemptive judgments are great liberators that set our hearts free and on fire.

But when the circumstances and storms of life come and challenge what we believe, the truth of God’s Word needs to be rooted and grounded deep in our hearts.  It is only when we understand His Word and His promises in the context of His will and divine purposes that we can effectively stand on them, and stand on them, and persevere, and see His Kingdom established in our lives.  It’s when His Word is rooted deep in our gut that we’re able to pray and decree and legislate from our God given authority and status as His sons and daughters.

This is what we’re called to do. We’re called to take a city.

On Wednesday nights, we’re going to go deep.  We’re really going to take our time and allow the truth of God’s Word to germinate and take root and get deep into our hearts.  Then, when we pray, we will ask for what we desire, and it will be done for us, Jn 15.7.

I’m really excited about studying the Book of Ephesians.  And the more I study, the more excited I get.  Did you know that the Book of Ephesians is considered to be a NT parallel to the Book of Joshua of the OT?  Joshua led the children of Israel into their Promised Land and Ephesians is all about entering and walking in our inheritance in Christ.  Did you know that Ephesians is considered the “crown jewel” or capstone of Paul’s theology?  Did you know that while Romans was used to spark the Reformation, Ephesians and its central theme of unity in the Body of Christ will be used by God to bring unity to His True Bride before the return of the Lord?

But while the truths in Ephesians have many applications to our church corporately and the regional church we are called to serve, the power and the strength and the might that they convey to the human spirit on a personal level are simply life-changing.

I hope you will join me for a season of strength and “body-building” as we uncover, assimilate and apply the powerful redemptive truths of the Book of Ephesians.

■ Grand Opening Weekend with Richard Crisco! Saturday & Sunday July 27-28, 2013

Learn about the vision of Revival Church & theLab University AND enjoy dinner together on Saturday night at 7pm!

John will be sharing the vision for the ministry and the region on Saturday for a short time just prior to a feast! Bring a main dish AND either a side OR a dessert to share (two total items).

Then, on Sunday, July 28th, we are honored to have special guest Richard Crisco with us at 7pm! This is a weekend you won’t want to miss!

■ Life with John and Amy• 5pm • Sunday, August 4th

Everybody is invited to John and Amy’s house the first Sunday of every month at 5pm!

This is the day we all look forward to each month! We eat together, play games, sit and talk and relax!

Bring your friends and family…the kids will love it!

Our address is: 64639 Tara Hill Drive, Washington, MI 48095

See YOU there!

■ Coming Soon: Reserve a Personal Prayer Room

Schedule 1-2 hour prayer blocks

As a house of prayer for the Detroit region, we HIGHLY value the hours of fervent prayer that are invested.
Soon, you will be able to reserve our prayer room to soak, study scripture, worship and minister to the Lord. Stay tuned!

■ theLab Prayer Events • Different Detroit Region Location Weekly!

theLab has prayed in fervent fire in over 70 Detroit area churches and has been strategically interceding on the streets of Downtown Detroit.

Amy Smith carries this vision, and is currently planning upcoming prayer events that will continue to shock this region! You are invited! Where are we going to be this Friday? Go to thelabdetroit.com and check out the prayer event calendar!

Opening Night is Saturday | Special Prayer Event Tomorrow

Revival Church has moved! Our first service is THIS SATURDAY at 7pm!

And, to kick it all off, we will have a special prayer event TOMORROW, Thursday, July 11th at 7pm in our new building!

We would love to invite you, your friends and family to celebrate with us as we take another step toward seeing night and day prayer grow in the Detroit region.

Revival Church is located at 26091 Sherwood, Warren, MI 48091. Visit our site for more info here: www.explorerevival.com

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image Additionally, our brand new schedule begins this weekend as well:

  • Prep Room
    Saturday 6pm
    Prayer drives the ministry, and we would like to invite you to join us for 45 minutes of fiery intercession before the service begins.
  • Primary Intercession & Teaching Service
    Saturday 7pm
    Our services are driven by about an hour of corporate intercession with music playing over us in fast paced, passionate atmosphere of fire.Teachings are finely focused on the topics of revival, prayer, the end-times, intimacy with God and reformation.
  • Prayer & Teaching: Historic Revivals
    Monday 7pm
    Encounter God and minister to him from 7-8pm and then learn about the great revivals and revivalists of history from 8-9pm!
  • Prayer & Teaching: Intimacy with God
    Tuesday 7pm
    Soak in God’s glorious presence from 7-8pm and then discover the deep, intimate heart of God from 8-9pm!
  • Prayer & Teaching: Bible Study
    Wednesday 7pm
    Pray with fire from 7-8pm and then discuss scripture in a small group setting from 8-9pm!
  • theLab Prayer Events
    Friday 7pm
    You don’t want to miss this! Every Friday we are somewhere in the Detroit region leading in fiery prayer! We may be in the streets of downtown Detroit or in a church in the area. To date, we have been in over 70 regional churches to hold white-hot prayer meetings. Simply show up and pray with us! See the calendar HERE for the location of upcoming events.

GRAND OPENING WEEKEND

It gets even better!

Our Grand Opening Weekend is July 27th and 28th!

On Saturday July 27th at 7pm, we will begin with an hour of prayer and teaching, and THEN we will all enjoy a feast together! Bring a main dish AND either a side item OR dessert to share (2 total items).

On Sunday July 28th at 7pm, we are honored to have Pastor Richard Crisco as our special guest.

This will be a weekend to remember!

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Manitou Springs Flood and Tornado | RHOP closes in Manitou Springs

Manitou Springs Flood and Tornado: God is orchestrating the advance of revival though we are sad to announce the closure of RHOP in Manitou Springs…


RHOP’S CLOSING & REVIVAL CHURCH’S NEW PROPERTY

Our team just returned from our third Manitou Springs, Colorado prayer journey this year—and instead of advance, Revolution House of Prayer has been shut down. Only 10 people remained to carry the burden of intercession unto revival, and that burden was too great. A greater army was required, and that army didn’t respond.

I believe it was God’s “Plan B” for the church to close. “Plan A” was simple: soldiers respond in force and pray night and day in this city that is so critical for revival regionally and nationally. Plan A didn’t happen. The goal wasn’t a mega-church as that size of a people would have compromised the mission. The call was for a team of remnant Christians to gather and advance revival through the house of prayer mandate.

Though it’s sad our twelve-year-old ministry closed this past week, we can see God’s redemptive plan in the midst of it.

We were presented with the opportunity to cancel return flights and rent a U-Haul to transfer RHOP’s equipment to Revival Church’s new property in Detroit.

image Though we broke down ten times (yes, TEN TIMES!) on the way here, we now have chairs, audio equipment, furniture, coffee equipment and more to help us get started in our new property!

So, as I stated above, the needs have diminished considerably. We aren’t quite there yet…so, your donation will bless us considerably!

You can donate NOW: www.explorerevival.com/specialgift

MANITOU SPRINGS

My vision for Manitou Springs is increasing, not decreasing.

However, the vision for revival in that region has yet to spread to many others. We held conferences there two separate times this year to rally support and gather the hungry, yet beyond those events, the response was limited.

I can boldly say that the heavily resourced church of Colorado Springs has been missing in action. They must show up for work immediately and send masses of intercessors, revivalists, musicians, leaders and others into Manitou multiple times a week to advance the vision of revival.

If people like Dutch Sheets agree that Manitou Springs may be the darkest city in the nation, why wouldn’t the soldiers of Christ get their boots on the ground and stay until God breaks in? Colorado Springs, you are resourced wonderfully and you are needed for battle.

If I sound frustrated, I am. I unapologetically am. We spent a few months rallying musicians to help lead worship for three nights at our last conference by contacting large and prayer driven ministries in the area. We literally received zero response. We called the pastors of the churches in the region to gather. They did not. We have personally prayed on site in over 100 churches in the Pikes Peak region…we have served with passion with nothing in return expected…well, expect for a fervent spirit of prayer to ignite in those churches.

Again, my heart is to communicate the need, to cast the vision and to sound the alarm. That alarm will continue to sound, though Manitou Springs is now without a governmental prayer covering.

THE FLOOD WAS PROPHESIED

One day before I loaded up the U-Haul truck at RHOP, my father-in-law had a dream.

In the dream I was loading the truck and he saw a flood coming. He said, “John, you have to go! The flood is coming! The water is rising! The time is now! You must get out!”

I continued to get a few more items to throw in the truck before I left.

The next day I did in fact load the truck and we prayed and released Manitou Springs into the hands of God. We prayed for Miles and Jodi and released them from their assignment there as they moved into another.

I sat at the table in my in-law’s house and said, “Wouldn’t it be crazy if a flood actually did come the day after we moved out!”

Crazy happened. The earth groaned. The next day, as I was driving to Detroit, the flood came.

The creek that runs under RHOP is usually only a few inches deep, but less than 24 hours after we left it was over 9 feet deep as mud and water raged past. Miles said it hit the foundation of RHOP, and he’s never seen it anywhere near that high before.

Then, the earth groaned again. The highest recorded tornado in American history landed on the top of Pikes Peak, America’s mountain that sits at Manitou Springs.

Job 27:20 Terrors overtake him like a flood; in the night a whirlwind carries him off.

THE TAKEAWAY

Pray. Pour money, musicians, intercessors and other resources into Manitou Springs. The Colorado fires were no coincidence. God is calling for the intercessors to rise up.

If this post pulls on your spirit, please contact me. My heart is broken for Manitou Springs. So goes Manitou, so goes the entire Pikes Peak region.

John Burton

www.burton.tv | [email protected] 

Fun tonight at John and Amy’s house : Plus, how to respond to failed missions in life…

Is Detroit moving into God’s Plan B? Listen to a short podcast… AND, grill out with us TONIGHT at 6pm!

imageYou, you friends and family are invited to hang with us TONIGHT at 6pm!

Bring some food to share. We will provide the hotdogs!

We will play corn hole, ping pong and just hang out and relax!

  • WHEN: Tonight, Saturday, July 6th at 6pm image
  • WHERE: John and Amy’s house, 64639 Tara Hill Drive, Washington, MI 48095
  • WHY: Are you serious?

PRAYER IN OUR NEW PROPERTY!

Last night we had our first prayer meeting in our new Revival Church/theLab property!

This is going to be the perfect place for us to gather many times each week for prayer and training!

Join us for our second prayer meeting THURSDAY, July 11th at 7pm, AND THEN for our first service at 7pm on Saturday, July 13th!

The address is 26091 Sherwood Avenue, Warren, Michigan 48091.

Our last service at our Central Church location is TOMORROW! I’ll be starting a new series, Enduring Prayer.

FLOODS, FAILED MISSIONS AND PLAN B

image Is it possible the Pikes Peak region has dropped the ball of intercession and revival? What about Detroit? I believe Plan A has failed.

So, where does that leave us? God is a redemptive God, and revival is still a hope, so that’s good news. The troubling news is that it won’t come on time.

Listen as I discuss this by sharing the story of a prophetic dream about a flood, and THEN an actual flood that occurred exactly as it was seen in the dream! It was stunning!

Manitou Springs flooded, and it was not simply a natural reality.

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/johneburton/failed-missions-floods-revival

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