Archive for November 2024
BURNOUT! Are American pastors too busy?
According to Barna, one third of pastors are considering quitting.
One in five have considered self-harm or suicide within the past year.
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I'm writing this from the SonScape Retreat Center in beautiful Divide, Colorado. The solitude, rest and fun that my wife and I are having along with other ministry couples and the incredible ministry staff is good therapy indeed.
Hard driving, production minded, spiritual leaders often admit they are burning out, losing the passion and considering stepping out of ministry while, at the same time, refusing to stop, breathe and refresh. The idea of a sabbatical never even enters their minds, or, if it does, they are convinced their board would never grant such a request. The only option is to keep working until the fire eventually goes out and families are left emotionally destroyed.
Last night, a former pastor shared a story with me of his desperate need for a short, six-week sabbatical a few years back. Many in his church aggressively campaigned against it, presuming he wasn't worthy of such an extended “vacation.” It went to a vote and his request barely passed. Upon returning, the tide had turned against him in even greater measure, and he resigned on the spot. Forty years of pastoral ministry was over.
We must understand that pastors are often depressed, have high blood pressure, are constantly attacked, poorly supported, in counseling, on medication, suicidal and desperate to quit. Further, pastor's wives are often ripped to shreds by destroyed friendships, gossip against their husbands, manipulative parishioners and nonstop unrest. It quite literally is a pandemic.
Even after three decades of ministry and reaching 55 years of age, I know I have so much to learn. In fact, after a week at SonScape, I'm invigorated, not discouraged, by my past blind spots. The fresh perspectives and input by the leadership team is making me excited about healthy shifts to life and ministry.
The point? Pastors especially need to continually re-sign up, get healed and allow themselves to come alive with what the next season holds.
Barna reports:
Henri Nouwen famously characterized the role of a pastor as being a “wounded healer.” This perspective underscores the importance of congregants, church staff and others actively supporting their spiritual leaders. Such care acknowledges that a pastor’s resilience and well-being are fundamental not only to their personal lives but also to the health of the communities they serve.
We must rest and play.
Sabbath means rest. It also means celebration.
The New Covenant Christian should be living a Sabbath life, playing, celebrating, rejuvenating, and ensuring they are not burning out, fading and emotionally dying. This isn't a Sunday plan of action. It's every day.
Sadly, the families of pastors and ministry leaders are often strained due to the unnecessary and unrealistic demands of the church. Vacations, recreation, turning off the phone and retreating to recharge are fiercely frowned upon by many. Pastors, after all, must be fully available, dead to their own desires and crucified by the demands of the people, right? It's dysfunctional.
When we launched our current ministry, I made it clear that I'd be burning hot and working hard to fulfill the vision God has given me. I also clearly communicated that I would not apologize for tending to my own heart and to my family. Ministry is a major focus, but not the only focus. It's also not the primary focus. I know, that sounds sacrilegious to some.
I let my leadership team know they would have room to grow into key roles in the ministry. When we move out of the way and encourage them to advance in ministry, it's quite powerful. Additionally, I said my family and I would be involved in other ventures on a regular basis. Vacations. Retreats. Recreation. Fun. Rest. Other ministry. Personal growth. The baton of leadership would often be placed in their hands.
Our current trip to Colorado will last three weeks. We've been away from the church several additional weeks this year as well. Additional time away is coming next year. If the church is dependent on me being front and center at every service, my leadership is failing.
I won't apologize for the priorities, and I believe pastors will be well served to adopt the same demeanor.
Schedule rest and fun on your calendar.
Block out significant time every year to disengage fully from the church. No ministry phone calls, no church work and no pastoral responsibilities. Play with your kids, date your spouse and relax.
Do not apologize to anyone. It's time to confront the ridiculous burnout culture in the church.
Preventative maintenance is necessary
The threat of depression, fatigue, disillusionment, health issues, emotional crashes, relational crisis and more severe consequences like heart attacks and marital affairs demand our immediate attention.
If we delete the noise on a regular basis, become unreachable at times, delegate authority and responsibilities and tend to our hearts, the crisis moments will begin to diminish.
I strongly recommend scheduling retreats like the one my wife and I are currently enjoying as often as you can. Our lives have been dramatically impacted here.
Focus on the Family and many other reputable organizations provide preventative maintenance opportunities that focus on everything from your marriage to your emotional health, and so much more.
Classes, workshops, retreats and other helps will strengthen your heart, your family and your ministry.
Churches, invest the money in your pastor.
The church should be budgeting a significant amount of money for self-care. Pastors don't need the added burden of attempting to finance strategies to support their emotional health. Church boards, pay up.
Pay for a month of fun and rest every year for the pastor and his family.
Pay for retreats and workshops several times a year.
Pay for training for other ministry leaders so they can be ready to lead when the pastor is tending to his heart.
Create a culture of spiritual, emotional and physical health in the church. This will not only strengthen the pastor, but everyone that attends will experience the benefits and, hopefully, tend to their own hearts in a similar manner.
We need more pastors and leaders, not less. This burnout crisis must be dealt with and the hearts of pastors and their families must be tended to.
Revolution Resistance – Is the Cost of Revival too High?
People are excited about dramatic change in the church, until they aren't.
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Never has the expression of Christianity needed transformation more than now. I suppose one could argue the nailing of the 95 Theses by Martin Luther compares, but we are in the last of the last days. Shift must happen immediately.
People can get amped up about a shiny, new model of ministry that emphasizes what their spirits are crying out for. Reformation and an intense resolve to advance the Kingdom of God sound good. It feels good.
The current expression of the American church has become so ingrained in us that we presume it's orthodox. It's the default blueprint that can be improved upon, but not violated.
I propose it's time for violation. Tear it down and build it back up according to the paradigm God reveals.
The Struggle
Different ministries with visions unique to their location, the five-fold office(s) of leadership and the directives of God will determine the schematic of the church experience.
The City Church Paradigm
The revolution will result in different churches, within scriptural boundaries, functioning differently. Apostle-led churches will look very different than teacher-led churches. However, the various expressions of the church on the local level will be incomplete until they all come together on the city level. Kingdom-minded local churches will strategically unite, eliminate redundancies, share a common city-vision and encourage the people to connect in multiple locations.
This sounds smart, until pastors become threatened with losing “their people.” When tithes and laborers start heading down the street to another local church, support for this refreshed and strengthened church structure diminishes.
This is a much bigger topic than can be addressed here, but suffice it to say, there is a healthy method to facilitating the city church model. Flaky commitments and church hopping can't work. Sadly, even a healthy approach is too risky for many.
Intense Holy Spirit Activity
Yes, there are a handful of churches that do not temper the wildfire of the Holy Spirit. However, when the Spirit of God truly moves, the experience includes both discomfort and comfort, risk and reward, crushing and healing, surrender and freedom.
When this type of atmosphere is promoted amongst casual Christians who are not familiar with such supernatural activity, the resistance comes in full force. Visitors run away. Members complain. Half-committed people head for the door.
A Culture of Intercession
Possibly the most important and disruptive transition is a return to strategic prayer. Sunday mornings must be dominated by tongues of fire, groans of intercession and bold prophetic decrees. I'm not talking about hiding this in a lonely prayer room before the service begins. Prayer will be front and center in the sanctuary and will dominate the clock.
Pastors know the people will flee in terror should they implement such a thing, so, it doesn't happen. The revolution resistance is strongest when it comes to leading the people into the realm of the Holy Spirit via vein-popping, tear-inducing, fire-breathing intercession.
Sadly, many pastors know nothing of such a supernatural lifestyle and would be lost themselves in a culture of prayer.
No wonder Leonard Ravenhill said: Pastors who don’t pray two hours a day aren’t worth a dime a dozen!
Reduction of Pastor-Led Churches
I'd encourage you to read my article on this topic, The Coming Shift Away From Senior Pastoral Leadership.
Here's a portion:
The coming church will look so different than the church of today that we will find ourselves speechless. Everything man-made is going. Everything that God deems good but outdated is going. The coming church will be defined by fire and it will repel the lukewarm and religious—as it draws in the hungry and desperate.
Corporate leadership will shift from pastors to apostles and prophets primarily. Instead of merely relaying information, messages will be mostly challenging and directive with a clear expected response as the body is rallied to fulfill a corporate mission together. They will lead with the expectation that the entire unit will be moving in step with them as they fulfill the vision of the church in unity.
In the coming church, pastors will mostly be relieved of primary church leadership responsibilities and will be released to spend most of their time one-on-one with people and in small groups.
Of course, you can predict the resistance to this mega-shift in the church.
The burdens that will be lifted from their shoulders will cause them to wonder why they ever resisted at all.
There's More
Space doesn't allow me to address the many additional changes that are coming.
I cover a lot of it in my book The Coming Church. I'm making it available to you for FREE. No strings attached.
Download the book now at HERE.
5 Marks of “The New Normal”
The shift must come to every church –immediately.
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There are over 19,000 cities in the nation and not one is experiencing the biblical normalcy of revival. Yes, there are pockets of Holy Spirit activity, but when considering regions, there's no smoke, no fire.
Every church and every Christian must not only be ready for reformation, they must initiate a massive revolution. Our daily experience will soon look nothing like it does now.
5 Marks of the “New Normal”
ONE: A radical devotion to the local church
A casual “commitment” to the most important, catalytic and strategic vehicle for the advance of the Kingdom in our nation's cities will result in devastation.
Lesser activities, entertainment and endeavors must yield to the schedule of the church as we gather with extreme discipline several times each week.
No longer can we allow schisms, opinions, frustrations, offense or any Leviathan or Absalom influenced emotion to derail us. The fire on the altar must never go out and the laborers are needed to tend to it.
TWO: A troubling, challenging, fiery church culture
Even in the most Spirit-driven churches it's easy to spot disinterested, disengaged people who are more interested in clock-watching and the buzz from their phones than in going deep in God with their fellow warriors.
A seeker strategy in the church over the past decades has resulted in a babied, hyper-sensitive people who will refuse to return if the fire gets too hot or the challenge is too intense. Of course, there's a ready remnant, but they are the exception.
We need to get used to anointed preaching that is roared from the pulpit and a vision that puts a tremble in our spirit, troubles us to the core and awakens us to action.
THREE: Spirit-filled, prophetic intercession that consumes our lives
Church services must look nothing like they have, and leaders have to be okay with the masses heading for the exits. The church gathering is not for the lost. It's not an evangelistic tool. It's a Believer's meeting. It's a prayer meeting.
Decrees, declarations and an atmosphere filled with fiery tongues must overwhelm the sanctuary every Sunday morning. The prophetic charge will shock the meeting and shatter the heavens as we move beyond tired, predictable church services.
Leave the list of desires and expectations at the door when searching for a church. It's not about us. It's not about “good teaching, good worship and good children's ministry” like so many have on their church shopping list. It's all about sacrificial, tear-inducing, desperate intercession.
When our lives, night and day, are filled with prayer like this, anything less when gathering as the church body won't be tolerated.
FOUR: Repentance and holiness are non-negotiable
Wickedness in our culture has flooded into the church, and it's time for aggressive, ferocious preaching to return to the pulpit. It will offend the casual and will invigorate the remnant to move into deeper realms of holiness and intimacy with Jesus.
Those who are driven by an independent spirit, who refuse to relinquish control of their lives and who scoff at such a separated, consecrated life will cause many problems. Apostolic, prophetic leaders must be ready to confront the attacking demonic spirits that will manifest through gossip, accusation, lies, hatred and manipulation.
Yes, a focus on holiness and a call to repentance will result in a spiritually violent assault. This is evidence that it's a great threat to Satan.
FIVE: Ministry will dominate our priorities – and our families will thrive
Cindy Jacobs prophesied over my wife that it was time to start a school of the Spirit, and that it would dramatically impact our children and family. We responded, and our family is burning in the furnace of ministry together.
The end-time season we are in will absolutely consume our thoughts and our plans. While much of the ministry will happen as part of the local church army we are assigned to, our focus will also expand into the city and beyond.
Every moment of our lives must be lived in the Spirit, understanding the critical call to fulfill our unique mission. Whether it's marketplace ministry, leading small groups, training for missions or any number of other ministries, we have to be locked-in. Every Believer is a minister.
We must be careful not to underemphasize our role in the local church as it is the primary strategic company that God has ordained. The foremost emphasis is intercession, and from there you will discover what your future role will be.
We are living in critical times.
Don't allow recent political victories to lull you into a state of comfort. The enemy is ramping up the assault and we can't afford to take a break.
Everything in our lives and in our churches must dramatically and immediately shift if we hope to see revival come, the Kingdom advance and the darkness recede.
This is our new normal.
The Risk of Snowflake Christianity
A refusal to wrestle with “negative” issues threatens American Christianity.
As I write, I'm looking at the stunning beauty of a winter storm from the lobby of my hotel in Denver. The individual snowflakes have banded together to create a never-ending sheet of white.
However, the fragile, melting qualities of a single snowflake have been ascribed to hyper-sensitive people, typically on the left. Ironically, the accusation fits for many of today's Believers as well.
Are American Christians Fragile?
From my article, 16 Dangers of the Positive Christianity Movement:
There is a rapidly growing aversion to any discussion about God that includes anything that feels negative. The problem? Cover to cover in Scripture we see endless accounts of God displaying His attributes—many of which would not be defined as positive.
Time and again, I've experienced conversations, sermons and viewpoints being shut down, renounced and furiously attacked by Spirit-filled Christians. The topics? Supposed negative perspectives on their pet beliefs. When their theological, political and philosophical safe places are threatened, they melt.
Many of today's American Christians are allergic to anything that puts their happy vibes at risk. The truth is their aversion to truth puts their eternities at risk.
Sin
False-grace and similar theologies have been invented to put us at ease, emphasizing the victory of the cross while ignoring the expected response of Jesus' followers. People have been so frustrated at their failure to live up to God's standards that they give up and embrace a false message. When their new paradigm is exposed as untrue, they strike back, accuse, mock or simply put their fingers in their ears. Instead of discovering the grace to live holy, they give up and give in to spiritualized poison and fight all who would attempt to help them.
Hell
For similar reasons, offense erupts when it's suggested that the road is narrow and that a small percentage of people may ultimately end up in Heaven. They have bought into a non-existent loophole that moves them closer to Universalism and further away from orthodox Christianity. The anxiety is too extreme, so they dismiss such suggestions of a wide road to hell outright. Is it possible that less than 5% of people avoid hell? Yes, it is, and we need to talk about it.
Church
Come and die. That should be the tagline of every church in the nation. Not come for the coffee. Not come for the show. Not come to find your spiritual family.
When the alarm is sounded and the call for radical surrender and consecration is blasted from the rooftops, the flakes start melting, desperate to find an environment that will satisfy and comfort. When calls to death to self are heard, fear strikes many souls.
The result? Pastors know the demands and expectations of the people very well. Many create an environment that perfectly matches what they desire. They prefer the frozen chosen to the mess of melted snowflakes all over their sanctuary.
Trump
While Christian America was celebrating in the streets and prophesying happy times as a result of Donald Trump's election, Emma Stark had quite a different take. Since we're talking about snowflakes, I'd say her perspective is a polar opposite of the jubilation expressed by most.
Emma said, “It's not always a blessing when God gives His people what they ask for and long for, according to the Bible. It can be a sign of imminent judgement and coming distress.”
She actually communicated that God would “punch Donald Trump in the face.” She said, “…He has not learnt how to redeem money, fame, sex or power. He has a preference for a different sort of Jesus to the one found in the Bible.“
The true church must arise.
My question is simple. Is there not a place to honestly discuss what Emma brings up? I'm sure most would be so deeply offended and enraged by such a “negative” word that they would scoff. They would melt. The very people who accuse the liberal left of turning to water when confronted with truth are actually doing the same.
We must not avoid the uncomfortable roundtable discussions about such topics. We have to stop shutting down sharp preaching that causes people to squirm. We must not be such political fanboys that we ignore severe, compromising issues.
The political spirit that has infiltrated the church is so fragile, though it presents as strong and bold.
It may be brash, but it's melting under the heat.
Will this Election Launch Revival?
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The fervor surrounding this election has broken the scale. The church seems to have been awakened to the responsibility to cast their vote. Lines of cars heading to polling stations led to lines of people willing to wait for hours in some locations. This is very good.
It would seem the passion for righteousness is suddenly spiking and hopes for a mighty move of God are trending upward. Then again, maybe not.
Five Reasons Revival Should Not Be Expected – Yet.
ONE: Where are the lines?
I'm not talking the lines to pull the lever and vote. I'm referring to the lines to the prayer rooms. While intercession has been on the increase over the last several years, a culture of fervent, strategic prayer has not overtaken most of our churches. Fiery prayer must be the primary activity of every Believer. The pastors and the leaders who promote this in their churches will be key catalysts of authentic revival in the nation.
TWO: Who cares?
I hear more about how the election will effect Bitcoin than I do revival. I've been a raging, desperate revivalist for nearly three decades, and I'll never forget the sad epiphany I had near the beginning of my ministry journey. I discovered almost nobody cares about revival. It's not something they think about. It's not on their grid. They don't pursue it. They don't care.
THREE: Why would it?
I agree that having a wicked leader leading a nation can result in a weeping church that cries out night and day for God to intervene. In that regard, yes, a national election can impact revival. Aside from a negative stimulus and other nuances in the grand scheme, we have to understand that secular politics have little to do with spiritual awakening. Spiritual awakening, on the other hand, will have a mighty impact on the politics of America.
FOUR: Is it a priority?
Obviously, if few care about revival, why would we presume strategic pursuit of it would be a priority? For too many, the focus is not on awakening. People are paying close attention to other important yet lesser issues such as the economy and national security.
Of course, some of the policies we are campaigning for like the ending of abortion are at or near the top of the list. I do not mean to minimize desperately critical issues. What I am attempting to communicate is simple. For most, revival is near the bottom of their list of priorities, if it's on the list at all.
FIVE: Have we paid the price?
It's clear we haven't prayed the price. Sadly, few have paid the price either. They have not counted the cost and shifted their life sufficiently to have any expectation of revival coming to America. The price is too high.
The benefits of revival are nuclear in power, invaluable beyond measure. Any price is worth what this nation, our churches and our families would experience should a supernatural outpouring visit us. Dramatic miracles, healings, encounters, freedom from demons, moved mountains and a massive harvest of souls is held back by a quasi-interested church.
REVIVAL IS ON GOD'S AGENDA
As many have said, we aren't waiting God. He's waiting on us.
Let me make it clear with a shout from the rooftops! I believe a planet-shaking, supernatural outpouring of the Holy Spirit is coming. I sense it can come much sooner than later should the remnant church take it up about a hundred levels.
Revival is simply defined as biblical normalcy. We are supposed to be living in revival at all times. Jesus has done all that needs to be done for us to initiate revival, to live in it, to minister in it and to invite a dying world into it.
Winning an election does little to cause a sleeping church to start doing what must be done for revival to break out. The prerequisites are nonnegotiable and few have even started on them.
Intense prayer, determined growth, active faith, radical surrender and locking into a church that is giving itself to nonstop advance toward city-wide and national revival are critical first steps.
A politician can't do that for us.
Yes, a righteous leader can promote righteousness in a deeply wicked nation. There is much good that can come which is why our vote is so important.
But the day after election day, our responsibility shifts. It's time to fill the prayer rooms, to contend for revival and to cry out for God to move powerfully in America.
The level of our celebration or depression following the election is directly related to the level of our pursuit of revival.
If we prioritize a move of God more than the appointment of a politician, we'll be as invigorated and focused after the votes have been tallied as we were before.
Trump: Democratic Party is ‘Demonic’
DEMONS ARE MANIFESTING
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On the heels of my article released two days ago titled, "Demons aren't Hiding this Election Season," former President Donald Trump made quite a remarkable declaration. As reported by Newsmax, Trump said, "This is a group of people, large group of people, larger than people think, but it's a very demonic party."
He distinguished between the party and the Democratic voters, clearly stating that the party was the target of his comment. However, one could argue that "guilty by association" may apply here, at least in part.
BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT ARE COMPROMISED
It must be said that you can find wickedness and corruption on both sides of the divide. A secular political system, sadly, is not a holy institution.
That being said, it doesn't take much analytical prowess to see exactly what Donald Trump is seeing. As I wrote in my previous article, "Whether it's God causing the veil to be lifted between the natural and the supernatural or if Satan has just upped his game, the truth remains. Demons have come out into the open."
The paradigms of the left boldly embrace some of the most demented wickedness our nation has ever known. These atrocities are strategically, directly inspired by the most unholy forces on earth. It's not difficult to arrive at the conclusion that Satan is advancing an end-time scheme to destroy people and our nation.
Time and time again, the Democratic party is campaigning for the cause of darkness to take dominion.
No, Republicans aren't as pure as the driven snow, but the policies and ideologies put those of the left to shame. While perfection is no where to be found, it's obvious to many that the advance of righteousness drives the agenda of most right-leaning American citizens.
A GODLESS PARTY
I'll never forget a story from a ministry friend of mine who was attending a pastor's meeting in Detroit several years ago.
When asked if anybody had a prayer request, my friend stood up and requested intercession for the ending of abortion. He was stunned when a prominent pastor rose and confronted him. He told my friend that he needs to understand that many in the room were proponents of "a women's right to choose." Yes, these were pastors. Professing Christians. Spiritual leaders in our nation.
Yesterday I saw a church sign with a message shaming anybody who would vote Republican.
Not only do we have a godless political party, we have a crisis of godless churches.
Any political or spiritual leader who would so aggressively promote the barbaric act of infanticide (abortion) as a right has been fully baptized by murderous demons.
Any who would endorse drag queen indoctrination of children in our nation's libraries and schools have been seduced by a perverse spirit that is determined to destroy our kids and families.
The unbridled hatred that many spew when even the scent of a Republican enters their safe place is a picture of demonization that's taking place all of the nation. The fangs are out and the venom is injected all over social media. Our nation is manifesting demons at a record pace.
Yes, I know, there's weakness on the right in regard to these and other dark topics as well. I pray Donald Trump and others discover the depths of God's heart and rise up as prophets in our nation. However, as it stands, the difference between the left and right is stark. The contrast is sharper than in any time in history. The left is dark and getting darker by the day.
PRAY AND VOTE
The demonic anointing that has saturated so much of the Democratic party demands the church hit its knees and pray with deep passion. Repentance must shatter the atmosphere of our nation.
In a state of fervent intercession, cast your vote for righteousness, and then pray again. Don't stop. Let the echo of rended hearts crying out be felt from coast to coast. It's time for the church to rise up and the political system to yield its position of national leadership to those who live holy and surrendered lives.
It's time to route the nation of the demonic influence and see life and righteousness return. That's how you make America great again.
Demons Aren’t Hiding In This Election Season
The demons are here, and I'm not talking about Halloween.
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It's November. The haunts of October are gone, and visions of joy and merriment are upon us as Thanksgiving and Christmas draw near, right? Not so fast. Imps and evil entities are very much among us as America is getting close to matching the supernatural climate of many third-world countries.
Disturbing demonization is openly visible in many places such as Haiti and parts of Africa. The enemy doesn't hide there.
Last night I was flicking through Instagram and was bombarded by not one, but many, videos of left-leaning liberals erupting with animalistic growls and curses. Some of you may have seen similar behavior as it seems to have become fairly normal in this political season. People ripping Trump signs out of the ground and spitting verbal assaults at any who would confront them is happening from sea to shining sea.
Of course, we know about the riots and fires and looting that have been on the increase over the past several years. This is most certainly wicked, evil behavior, but what we are seeing now is different. Manifestations of actual demons have become commonplace.
EXPOSURE
Many prophetic voices have declared our recent spiritual history has been one of exposure. God, who is as just as he is good, is out to cleanse and purify his glorious church. While this has certainly happened, and has revealed terrible wickedness, I believe it was only the beginning.
The devil is being exposed as well. Whether it's God causing the veil to be lifted between the natural and the supernatural or if Satan has just upped his game, the truth remains. Demons have come out into the open.
Students are identifying as “furries,” crawling on hands and knees. Drag queens have infiltrated public libraries and are indoctrinating the next generation. Twisted demons are among us and it has nothing to do with October 31st.
Many years ago, I felt strongly that we would soon see actual demonization become quite common in the streets, schools, businesses and parks of our nation. People don't know what to make of it other than to accept it as the new normal. To their unrenewed minds, supernatural beings inhabiting people isn't within the realm of possibility. At worst, they might need a mental health check. At best, these are their new crusaders, people who have had enough and who are responding in hatred and rage against the machine.
My wife, two young daughters and I were coincidentally in Philadelphia the day of the Presidential debate. We were greeted with brash signage, high fences, strange individuals and more SWAT and tactical police than you could imagine, walking the streets with assault rifles and body armor.
It was daylight and we felt safe as we passed through to see the Liberty Bell. On the way back, someone yelled out at me. After brief small talk, he began hurling accusations, calling me a homosexual. He then confronted my daughters, asking if anyone ever accused me of being gay. It was time to move on, and when we did, he started shouting loudly through the square, “He's a homosexual! He's a (expletive) homosexual!”
The devil is not hiding.
WICKEDNESS INCREASING
The church in its current state is nearly hopeless against this bold, new advance of the enemy.
We don't need any more supposed political pundits in the pews. We must have prophets! It's time to equip fire-breathing intercessors, prophetic messengers, deliverance ministers and others who will expose the darkness (though it's exposing itself without much help) and confront the spirit of the age.
All sorts of wickedness is on the rise. We shouldn't be surprised if it becomes culturally acceptable to take abortion to the next level. A spirit of Herod has no problem killing children under the age of two. Why did Herod endorse this? To protect his throne. Don't doubt for a minute that today's demonized political system would affirm such a strategy. Politics is one of Satan's primary vehicles to deliver it's wrath.
The devil is not hiding.
Fiery, strategic prayer meetings must take over as the primary gathering. Sunday mornings must become furnaces of intercession where groans and cries echo. A righteous President will help a little, but that cannot be our focus. It's time for the church to repent, to pray, to rend its heart and to get equipped to fight a hoard of demons who have boldly emerged from their dens.