The Church
What a night! Praying in tongues as a primary church strategy
Hi Revival Church team!!! Thank you SO MUCH for my birthday card and gift!!! You know my love language!!!
Last night’s “Bring your blanket to church” soaking event was PHENOMENAL from beginning to end! WOW! We’ll be doing it again next week! Invite EVERYBODY you know!
There are some key truths that will assist our ministry and any other as we advance into uncharted territory.
In order to move forward, it’s going to take quite a unified advance… I’m praying about what this looks like, and one significant step I’m calling the entire church into is:
- Praying non-stop in the Spirit together for one hour from 5-6pm on Sundays.
The groans, the flow of intercession as the Spirit prays through us is critically important… and it’s also important that we do it as a unified team.
I understand that ‘life happens’ to all of us, and it’s so easy to get hit… the enemy is nasty and very active… and based on my own experience in seasons like this there are two mission critical areas that tend to take the hit first:
1. Prayer
2. Unity
We have to jealously guard against anything that would hinder either of these focuses. We need to be proactive and preemptive.
We have to be very intentional in loving each other deeply and holding hands in prayer-fueled advance. If we do this, life will be amazing and we’ll blast through barriers with ease.
The very first element in our strategy (20 Elements of Revival) is agreement in the place of prayer. Revival and mission advance can’t happen if either of those two elements are minimized.
I’ll include chapter one from that book below…
It’ll give us a good picture of the importance of being together in fervent prayer continually. If you haven’t read the entire book, I’d strongly recommend you do asap.
**We can be in the building Sundays before 5pm (in fact, we need help at 4:30pm setting up)… and then dive into praying in tongues together right at 5pm.
**For those of you who are in the i1 or i2 intercession team… PLEASE ensure you are on the call every Monday night at 9pm.
If you have thoughts, words, dreams, visions, etc. please let me know!! You are the best of the best! Thanks for all you do and for who you are!!!!
Here’s chapter 1:
Element One
Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
The way this ancient and emerging Church was birthed is the way it was meant to continue. God drew zealots together to actively wait.
As we step through these twenty elements, it’s critical to prayerfully consider the step-by-step process. It is flexible enough to allow God to infuse your Church growth experience with your own DNA, yet the underlying principles simply must not be violated.
This first element is the most critical, yet is probably the most neglected. In the pursuit of establishing a new Church, or in the development of an existing one, the pure adrenaline of it can cause us to become impatient. This first Church could not have been planted from a human perspective.
Good teaching, proven programs, intimate small groups, evangelistic crusades and other methods would not work at this stage of the process. These are actually parts of future elements that will take root and develop further in the Church planting process.
So, what is this first element?
Element One- Agreement
The verse tells us that they were ALL in one accord AND in one place. This depicts a mature and hungry team of radically devoted believers who understand the massive commitment it will take to fulfill the mission.
To launch, there must be a strategic team of mission-minded owners of the vision.
A tragic mistake that is often made at this initial phase of ministry is the improper focus on relationship. Fellowship will become a staple of the Church experience well into the process, but to entrust the strategy of fellowship as a foundational element at this phase will result in failure, stagnation and a lack of power.
Being in agreement is very different than being in fellowship. An attitude of agreement results in corporate strength that will bust through many barriers the enemy will set up in the early stages.
A strategy of fellowship alone is incredibly susceptible to offenses taking root, gossip, frustration, disagreement and the fostering of an Absalom spirit. Fellowship is simply not strong enough to be a foundation of a local Church. Agreement, however, easily is.
I’ll often hear pastors state that they are launching a new Church on a foundation of fellowship. They have a plan of worshiping together, inviting friends and developing a new community. Of course, the heart behind this is wonderful. Strategically however it simply rarely works.
This first element of agreement breeds the second element that we’ll discuss further in a moment. The second element is extreme devotion of time. We’ll notice that the first Church was together every day. Why? Because that was how it was birthed. In order to capture God’s heart, hear His instructions, nurture unity and become alert to the directives of apostolic leadership we must be together nearly continually.
If we are fellowship minded, this type of commitment will rarely last. Desire for fellowship is inward focused primarily, but an attitude of agreement causes us to look outward. To be agreed and unified toward an impossible goal that God has presented to the team will both require and result in a continual pursuit of that goal together.
I often teach that if we are to experience revival, we must do now what we will be doing when revival breaks out. A revival atmosphere results in people craving to be in the Church building night after night. Prayer and worship and breaking under the presence of God never end. If we are contending for that, we must start the process now.
I find it amazing that Churches are eliminating services in response to a very demanding American lifestyle. If we are to experience revival, we must fight that spirit and once again, as in the previous generation, be in the Church every time the doors are open- and the doors should be open night and day!
The Experience
At the risk of getting ahead of myself, I want to share now what we are contending for. The biblical norm for believers is to experience the weighty presence of the Holy Spirit regularly. The normal experience for a Sunday service, for example, is for us to walk in the door and immediately become influenced by an atmosphere of fire. Brokenness, tears, drunkenness in the Holy Spirit, prophetic unction, repentance and other manifestations should be the expected reality day after day.
We have become satisfied with teaching services, song services, social gatherings and other activities without the baptism of fire that should be burning through them.
I often discuss what I call the ‘money changer principle’. Churches, both new and mature, often have an imbalanced focus on satisfying the needs and desires of the members. Church growth strategies dictate that we must have certain things in place if we expect people to want to come to our Church. So, from the outset, our minds are tilted toward drawing the crowds and in order to do that we ask the question, “What will cause people to come, stay and get involved?”
May I offer that this mind set must change if we are to experience God the way He wants to be experienced. The money changers’ table was overturned by Jesus. He was indignant. He stated clearly that the temple was to be a House of Prayer. What was the sin of the money changers? They went into the temple with the expectation of leaving with more than they entered with. The temple is to be a place of sacrifice! We are to have the expectation of leaving with less than we entered with!
If we as leaders understand this, we will have no problem requiring much from those who are joined with us in mission. We are truly called to die. That perspective must be embraced and shouted from the rooftops.
Let’s look at an interesting passage of scripture. Keep in mind as you read this that Peter was the ‘rock’ on which the Church was birthed. Jesus was making a severe statement not only to Peter but also to the upcoming Church.
Matthew 16:21-25 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Note an very important statement that Jesus made:
“You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Peter unwittingly renounced the cross. Jesus rebuked him in this famous conflict to ensure that the generations to come would be sure to embrace what Peter renounced- daily death under the weight of a cross.
This was exceedingly critical not only for Peter and not only for the generations, but primarily for the structure that Peter represented. The Church.
As we launch or redevelop our Churches according to this New Testament paradigm we must be sure that we avoid a structure that appeals to man ahead of God. Jesus told Peter that he was an offense to Him. Why was he an offense? After all, he wanted Jesus to be safe and comforted. The boldness that we saw in the garden as Jesus was being led away to his destiny with the cross showed itself in this instance as well.
We don’t know what other inner struggles Peter may have been dealing with, but we do know that Jesus didn’t like his reaction to those struggles. He stated clearly that to be mindful of man ahead of God was offensive.
Our Churches must be setup to primarily minister to God on a foundation of prayer, sacrifice, offerings and service. When someone comes into our Church as a visitor they should witness a radical atmosphere of extreme commitment, passion and mission-driven fervor. Instead of forming materials that emphasize what the visitor can expect from their new Church those materials should highlight what their new Church expects from them!
Churches are missional organizations. They exist to accomplish a mission- and to equip the saints to ensure that mission advances with precision. We must be mindful of God and the vision he has given that Church.
Vision?
I won’t go into much detail here, but I believe the concept of vision must be addressed at least to a point. Agreement will not last without a vivid and easily communicated vision.
I was leading a prayer event at a Church in the area on a Friday night earlier this year. One of the other leaders who was with me that night asked the pastor what his vision was. When it was obvious the pastor was struggling with this question we asked if he had anything written down so we could come into agreement with them during our prayer time. He went searching for something to give us, and finally found a brochure that described the Church’s mission.
Vision for our mission should consume us night and day. If we do not lead from a place of vision, we will go nowhere. If we don’t have vision, we need to ask some hard questions. Are we the one to lead the Church? What alternate role may God be opening up to us?
The process of gaining vision might include something as simple as praying and fasting on a mountain somewhere for three days. God desires every one of us to have clear vision- but to receive that vision takes an absolute dedication to being with God, hearing His voice and obeying. Yes, our dreams and desires may be threatened when God starts talking, but as we walk in the direction of God’s voice, we will shake nations!
Simply, if we don’t have vision, we may need to step down. However, if we do have vision, stepping down won’t even be an option. There is a job to be done!
A trap that captures many men and women of God is to step into a leadership role based on gifting instead of vision and calling. Someone who has a pastoral gifting may not be called to lead a Church at all. A teacher may be called as a small group leader or a lecturer or an author. Or, that person may indeed be called to lead a Church, but if that is the case, vision must burn like a fire in their bones!
I’ll finish this sub-point by saying this- vision is very specific and personal. Vision is not a quote we hang on the wall in our sanctuary like, “Our mission is to grow closer to God and each other”. Vision is precise and seemingly impossible to fulfill. It will cause great excitement and scrutiny to be aroused at the same time. It will usually include geographical information, statistical goals, clear transformational ideas and a laser focus to fulfill that mission. This doesn’t mean it won’t be ambiguous at times- the larger the vision the more difficult it may be to put into words. However, there is an end goal and everybody under our leadership will be willing to pay its great price- and they will celebrate when we arrive together.
So, we discovered a lot in this first verse of Acts Chapter Two. Everybody had a clear vision, was perfectly agreed and together continually. The cost was understood at the very beginning- what was coming required strict adherence to God’s structural plan by everybody involved.
Evaluation
Church planters- if your team is radically agreed to pursue the fulfillment of a vivid vision for their region, then by all means, keep reading! If there are some in your midst who are wondering what is in it for them, then remain in this phase until you have 100% participation.
Existing Church leaders- Your evaluation may be a bit more difficult, especially if you are significantly developed. First of all, don’t be afraid to violate existing structures in the fear of losing people. A great reformation is coming to the earth that will cause Church as we know it to be shaken to its core. Do you have an atmosphere of extreme agreement and passion for a clear and precise vision? Is there great expectancy of what is to come and great commitment to the realization of that dream? If so, let’s move on!
Everybody else- Are you involved with your current Church for the right reasons? Would your pastor be able to say that you are one of his most loyal and faithful partners in ministry? Do you embrace the vision to the point of extreme participation and lifestyle change?
Jet and I made a video for you
Warning: I made Jet cry in the video. Don’t watch if you can’t handle such a sweet little boy in tears.
We’re inviting you to our “Bring a Blanket” night at Revival Church!
Five Concerns I have Regarding the Local Church
First—Revival Church is a REGIONAL strategic center of revival. We are calling all of the hungry people in Detroit, everybody who’s ready for a move of God, to converge every Sunday night with us. TONIGHT we’re gathering the army and preparing for revival at 6PM. Come on out if you are anywhere within 50 miles! www.detroitrevivalchurch.com
Those of you who follow my ministry know a key component is the preparation for a massive reformation in the church. Extreme change to the current structure, style of service and day-to-day operations of the local church must come—and quickly.
I trust that you’ll understand that I am intensely positive and driven by excitement and joyful expectation for the coming revival in the church. I love and currently lead a local church myself. However, we’re at a critical point in history where honest analysis must come forth. Everything is not OK, and a reformation is coming.
Here are some key concerns I have in regard to the local church:
- THE LOSS OF CITY CHURCH IDENTITY—Scripturally we see the church of the city emphasized much more than the smaller, localized church. Today, it seems that the concept of a city church to many is more a fable than a biblical reality. Without question, the proposal to function as a city church has little positive response when
discussed among pastors and other leaders. It’s one thing to participate in token city church functions a few times a year, but it’s something entirely different when we’re talking about weekly city church staff meetings, shared responsibilities, pooling of resources and releasing the body to intentionally connect several times a week in other local churches.
Witness Lee said this: “…we cannot have a street church, nor an avenue church, nor a church on a college campus, nor a church in a house that is not also the church in the city. According to the New Testament we can have only a city church, that is, the church in the city where we are.”
Watchman Nee said, “I believe God in His great wisdom made the locality the boundary of the church in order to eliminate the works of man, which try to divide the church within one locality.”
The local church is a puzzle piece. A single puzzle piece has no purpose or value if it’s not connected to the completed picture. But, when connected, it’s powerful. - A TEMPERED ENVIRONMENT—When I led Revolution Church in Manitou Springs, Colorado I made a promise to the church. I would never tone down the activity of the Holy Spirit out of respect of those less hungry. If we fear that extreme Holy Spirit activity will drive people away, I’ll propose we’re in an extremely dangerous place. Ou
r true motive of church growth ahead of Holy Spirit freedom becomes clear. We presume we have a more natural, logical, social and appropriate way to touch lives. We actually say, “Holy Spirit, I’ll take it from here.” The reality is that it takes a supernatural infusion to touch lives. A logical, social approach as the primary strategies just can’t work.
Today it has become rare to find a church that is exploding in life, power and heavy moves of the Holy Spirit. The reality is that, at least in the formative stages, a church that emphasizes Holy Spirit liberty and allows a weighty manifestation of God’s presence is at risk of losing people. Most people do enjoy a quick touch, a healing, an experience in God’s presence—at a low cost. However, few—very few—are willing to pay the price, week to week, to go into the deep. The cost is high and the Western church has created a culture of satisfying the desires of the people ahead of mission advance and intimacy with God. I wonder how many people have been lulled into a false sense of eternal security due to a tempered corporate expression. - IT’S DIFFICULT TO EMPHASIZE AND FACILITATE A CULTURE OF PRAYER—Why is this? Poorly steward time, for one. Most churches today intentio
nally limit the length of the Sunday service to less than two hours. Most people today only attend a Sunday morning service. We have little choice but to reform this model and introduce deep, zealous, faith-driven prayer and intercession for the nations back into our primary services. Today, pastors, on average, pray six minutes a day. This is a horrifying statistic. The church of our nation is being led primarily by people who know certain things about God, but may not deeply and intimately know him. - COMPETITION BETWEEN CHURCHES—I’ll make my feelings on this point clear. It’s tragic and often sickening when churches compete, exhibit jealousy and aren’t clearly connected to each other. We have to admit that something’s wrong when established churches aren’t rushing to the front of the line to welcome and help a new church plant.
I’ll share my own story of insecurity from the early days of Revolut
ion Church in Manitou Springs, Colorado—a city with only five churches, and only two that were open to a move of the Spirit. We had a huge vision for that region. We had invested much and were working hard to advance the mission. On day I stumbled upon a new church’s website that highlighted a vision of their own to plant a satellite church in Manitou Springs. Though I handled the news just fine publicly, I’m embarrassed by my personal, emotional response. I was nervous. I didn’t want to lose ground, lose people or be upstaged by something more successful. Sad but true! What should my response have been? What should the response of established churches be when other churches are on the move and advancing in their mission? - I should have sent them money.
- I should have celebrated their arrival.
- I should have found some of my best leaders and families and sent them to the new church for several months to help them get established( even if those families felt led to remain in that new church indefinitely).
- I should have taken the pastor and his wife out to dinner.
- I should have rejoiced at the greater opportunity to expand the Kingdom of God in Manitou Springs!
I absolutely love Mike Bickel’s philosophy—anybody at any time can walk through the doors of his ministry and recruit anybody they want to leave and join them in their own ministry. That’s the way it should be! The time is growing short where building our own kingdoms and jealously guarding them is coming to an end. We simply have to keep our hands open. I encourage the people at Revival Church to serve, enjoy and connect with other churches in the city. We also welcome people with open arms from other churches to connect at Revival Church. - REDUNDANCY—This point is so simple that it’s shocking that we haven’t figured it out. The secular business world is sharper than the church on this issue. McDonalds would never attempt to build a restaurant on each of the four corners of an intersection. It would be foolish beyond description to do so. The world knows this, and also finds it easy to laugh and mock when they see four Christian churches, one at each corner of the same intersection. It’s madness!
Our independent, controlling methodologies as church leaders have resulted in an extreme waste of resources. You see, it would make perfect sense for there to be one McDonalds, one Taco Bell, one KFC and one Pizza Hut on each of the four corners of an intersection. Each restaurant has a specialty, a fresh take on the dining experience. On Monday the family enjoys McDonalds, on Tuesday it’s Pizza Hut, etc.
If we in the local church could understand that we are to create departments of the city church as opposed to autonomous and independent local churches, and it’s ok to specialize on one or two Kingdom focuses instead of unsuccessfully trying to do it all, the Kingdom will advance very quickly. Let’s take those four churches, consider the pastors to be associate staff members on the city church staff, allow them to only focus on what they are gifted to do and encourage their members to visit all four at different points during the week.
Thoughts?
Michele Perry featured in Charisma Magazine
Have you registered for the Michele Perry event yet? It’s IMPORTANT that you do so ASAP… we’re expecting an overpowering emotional and supernatural atmosphere on SUNDAY, MAY 30th at Revival Church.
You can REGISTER right now (it’s FREE!) at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events.
You can read about her amazing journey as the founder of Heidi Baker’s Sudan ministry, Iris Ministries-Sudan.
ALSO- If you know of a church that Michele could minister in on Sunday morning, May 30th, PLEASE contact me right away at [email protected].
You can read the Charisma article here.
The danger of a ‘wait and see’ approach toward revival
FIRST—Tonight at Revival Church we’re gathering together with people hungry for a move of God in Detroit. If you aren’t pursuing revival corporately tonight, by all means come on out and contend with us!
ALSO—Be sure to REGISTER for the upcoming Michele Perry event at Revival Church! www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events
I sometimes wonder if we truly understand the severity of the crisis we are experiencing
in the church. Rick Joyner reports that today only 5% of people who make a decision for Christ actually end up in church.
Billy Graham’s on stats reveal that only 2% of people who make a decision for Christ at his crusades end up in church.
We are in the midst of a crisis that every day is resulting in people who were incorrectly secure in their position in Christ dying and entering into Hell. Does this mean that everybody that doesn’t ‘go to church’ is out of relationship with Christ? No, but it is at least an indicator of a possible problem.
The church is a corporate entity. We love, serve, worship, pray and contend together on a very regular basis. In Acts we see that they were in the temple daily and in prayer and other activities corporately. To remove oneself from that fundamental New Testament structure is at least an indicator of several potential issues.
I’m teaching part two of “The Spirit of Pilate in the Church” tonight at Revival Church. We are seeing a serious problem of affirmation of the people who have rejoiced at the arrival of Jesus in their lives (Palm Sunday) but who have refused the cross as the answer (Good Friday). When there was hope of personal gain (Hosanna) the people gathered, but when there was risk of personal loss (the cross) the people scattered.
The big show, the rejoicing and worship of the Palm Sunday crowd must be interpreted carefully. Churches are growing through the affirmation of the Palm Sunday believer, when, in fact, those people may not have embraced the cross of Christ.
THE PROBLEM
Churches that are birthed and developed from the Palm Sunday style crowd are making a tragic mistake. The emphasis is on what the church can offer the people. On Palm Sunday that’s what happened. They were yelling, “Hosanna!” which means, “save us” or “deliver now.”
With so many people craving their needs and desires to be met it’s quite easy to attempt to satisfy those demands. What results, however, is a culture of diminished focus on the cross, and a body of believers who aren’t schooled in the call to pour out, to minister and to give and serve with no demand for anything in return.
Simply, it results in a lazy church.
DETROIT
When I started traveling to Detroit to minister, and God was exploding in power in the services, I began to experience a strong and urgent concern constantly with me.
There are a lot of hungry, desperate people here in Detroit. The opportunity for revival is huge in this region.
However, the concern that has only intensified within me is this: Many are taking a wait and see approach. They are hungry, but they simply move from Sunday to Sunday and special event to special event hoping that God pours out that day.
On the surface that sounds great. People are hungry and want God to move. However, if we’re not careful we’ll easily embrace the Palm Sunday strategy.
We can’t simply express our desire for “Hosanna”, for saving, for deliverance and then kick back and wait for it to arrive.
In Acts 1, the disciples had a similar mindset. They asked Jesus when he was going to establish his Kingdom. They wanted Jesus to kick back into action an do the work. Jesus then said something that changed the face of history. He told them that he was leaving, and they must now do the work themselves! They were to initiate revival, to expand the Kingdom. They had a lot of serious work to do!
They transitioned from disciples to apostles (sent ones) on that day.
This is what the entire church of Detroit (and the nation, and the world) must do! It’s our responsibility to initiate and facilitate revival, the establishment of the Kingdom. It’s our job to heal and deliver. We also have a lot of serious work to do!
We CANNOT take a ‘wait and see’ approach!
If you are in the church in the Detroit region, ask yourself, “What am I doing strategically and intentionally every day and every week to initiate revival and to advance the Kingdom?”
We need everybody zealously contending individually and corporately. The churches should be packed Sunday morning, Sunday evening and many nights through the week!
The church needs every believer in position as the 24/7 church is being restored.
Let’s not just ‘hope’ and wait… but, let’s aggressively release revival in this city. Let’s do the work necessary.
As Bill Johnson says, “Nothing in the Kingdom comes outside of declaration.”
If you don’t have a service TONIGHT to attend, don’t miss the chance to contend in the presence of God with us at Revival Church! www.detroitrevivalchurch.com
Worship Team Small Group : Radiant Worship photos
Are you a musical, worshiping revivalist? Now is the time!
We are developing our worship experience at Revival Church and we’re adding singers and musicians NOW!
One week from tomorrow on Thursday, April 29th at 7pm you are invited to our brand new WORSHIP SMALL GROUP. Try outs and all the information you need will be discussed that night.
If you are interested, contact me asap at [email protected].
Your commitment will include a weekly Thursday night small group, pre-service prayer and the Sunday service (whether you are singing/playing or not that week).
What a night we had with Radiant Worship! How fun and freeing that was!
Thanks to everybody who helped pull it together, and everybody else who embraced an atmosphere of wild freedom!
The anointing was strong… God is getting us ready for encounter after encounter at Revival Church!
Don’t forget to register for the upcoming Michele Perry event at Revival Church here: www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events.
Here are some pics from that night:
See you Sunday at Revival Church!
John
Do you go to church? Read this.
FIRST—Have you registered for the RADIANT WORSHIP event THIS SUNDAY? Head on over to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events and register TODAY!
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After wrestling with the emotions that invaded my life after my Dad’s death on Good Friday, and dealing with the extreme shortness of time for all of us to fulfill our missions on the Earth, and also considering the reality of eternity, I’m finding myself freshly challenged.
(By the way, check out a new site under development in honor of my Dad at 
www.johnburton.net/bobburton.)
I was scheduled to minister on Good Friday at my friend’s church in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada on this topic that’s stirred me more since my own Dad went home that very day. The topic? The church and the cross.
That seems to be a likely subject matter to minister on the day set aside to remember the death of our Lord Jesus. However, the message is different than what you might expect. It’s a message of concern for the church. A message that calls for deep personal analysis. It’s a message that clearly reveals the necessity for radical reformation in the church.
Matthew 21:8-11 (ESV) 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
hōsanna—“save us”
The masses, upwards of 1/2 million people, were crying out for a better life. They were desperate for salvation. They cried out to their only hope, SAVE US!
So far, so good! We have the same cry resounding now in our nation and around the world. Desperate people are seeking relief, peace, abundant life.
We know that Jesus offers all of that and much more! I’m a huge believer in the grace of God, in extreme joy, in freedom. It’s a significant mark of my ministry. My mission statement is, “Making it easy for people to thoroughly enjoy God.”
It’s very good to seek the blessing of God. We are commanded to be blessed—to be a blessing! Life in Jesus should be phenomenal!
THE PROBLEM
Jesus heard the prayers, the requests, the cries of the people on what has become to be known as Palm Sunday. He was very much intent on “saving them.” He was in agreement with their need to cry “Hosanna.”
In the modern church it has become quite acceptable to appeal to the Palm Sunday masses with promises of excellent programs, wonderful teaching and an edifying and comfortable environment of worship. For many, Palm Sunday is the goal. People crave an exciting atmosphere full of committed and desperate people.
The problem? Jesus knew that 1/2 million worshipers in a Sunday worship ‘service’ was not the goal. There was no way their desire for freedom and salvation could be realized without another radical element. The cross.
On Good Friday the 1/2 million group diminished to only 2. It couldn’t even be considered a cell group.
The call to the cross was not what the masses wanted. Their demands were unmet. They rebelled against Jesus because they weren’t willing to embrace the cross.
If people are “Palm Sunday Christians” we have a very serious problem. Without the cross, we cannot be Christians at all. There are many who have been appeased and affirmed in their participation with other worshipers… all while they may not be saved at all! Without the cross, the masses on Palm Sunday were absolutely hopeless. The same is true today.
THE ANALYSIS
I’m wrecked. How often do people choose their church based on how good the children’s program is, or how friendly the pastor is or what the church can do for them and their family? How often do churches actually maximize this “Palm Sunday” scenario by offering everything the people are looking for?
It’s time the cross returns to the church, and the church returns to the cross. It’s time to raise the bar. It’s time to leave our demands behind and take up our cross and die—daily.
The revival and refreshing and abundant life that our cities and nation needs can’t come through big ideas, amazing programs or by meeting the needs of the people—as great as all of this sounds.
Revival comes through a death and resurrection. It’s through a baptism. It will arrive through zealous people who leave their desires behind and serve with passion. It will come through gutsy leaders who are willing to leave the large crowd behind and lead the few to the stinging, painful, demanding cross of Christ.
You see, it’s that cross that will turn us from death to life, from fear to faith, from apathy to revival that will rock this planet.
CONCLUSION
Time is short. We’re all almost done here on the Earth. We have to see reformation come if we hope to see abundant life flood our churches.
Let’s leave our Palm Sunday dreams behind, dismiss our plans for the huge crowds and lead whoever is willing to the cross.
Leaders, that means much will be at risk. Our salaries, our positions, our freedom of time. We may have to get a second job. We may make a lot of enemies. People will talk. People will leave. But, if we do it, many, many, many will be saved.
Others, this means that much will be required. You may not get to choose the ‘perfect church’. Your children may not have the best programs. It may be a challenge to respond to the extreme call. Your time may be treaded upon as the call to ministry increases. But, believe me, it will be worth it.
We must set a precedent for the next generation. We have to embrace God’s desire to bring reformation and restoration to his beloved church.
What do you think?
Tonight : The Spirit of Pilate in the Church : Revival Church
FIRST: Be sure to REGISTER ASAP for the upcoming Radiant Worship and Michele Perry Events! Go to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events right now!
The extreme reformation that’s coming to Detroit and the church in our nation will be a challenge beyond anything we’ve ever encountered.
This teaching will help us prepare for the coming change. Pilate in the Church is a prophetic message to the church and I’ll be sharing it tonight at Revival Church.
See you for prayer at 5pm and the service at 6pm!
We’re excited to have Bob Ladendorf leading worship for us tonight!
John Burton’s Welcome Note
Hi!
Thank you for considering me for ministry in your church or at your conference or event. My heart is to see pastors strengthened and churches break into freedom and extreme life.
I look forward to connecting with you and developing a great relationship. You will discover that I’m easy and fun to work with, and your mission is extremely important to me.
I’ve written five books on topics including prayer, revival and fulfilling our destinies in life, and would love to teach on those subjects or others that God has burned into my heart.
Single events, conferences, workshops, leadership training and other ministry venues work great. I’m free to travel one full week and weekend each month, and any other day except Sunday evenings the remainder of the month. Revival Church meets Sunday evenings and it’s probably good that their pastor is in the building at least three out of four Sunday evenings!
To view my ministry schedule, CLICK HERE.
To see my complete ministry portfolio which includes my bio, video and audio, CLICK HERE. And, feel free to contact me any time at [email protected] or by phone at 313.799.FIRE.
Blessings!
John Burton 
Important : Vision
I want to cast a regional vision for you, and I’d ask that you pray about how you can participate. If you could FORWARD this to everybody on your list, that would be an amazing help for us!! I’m available to travel and speak on this vision in churches too!
I’d deeply appreciate it if you read through this entire message. It’s exciting!
And, you may know people who have connections and/or resources. Do you have the desire and resources to help launch several churches in the Detroit area? Or, do you know somebody who does? The Revival Church vision is extreme, and it requires extreme plans and extreme participation. This is going to be fun!! People in Detroit will be transformed forever!! Yeah!
We’re looking for a central hub where we’d hold large conferences, have a 24/7 house of prayer, possibly setup a Dream Center style ministry, etc.
FIRST, check this out! Late last night I decided to email some people who have large properties available and boldly asked them to donate them to Revival Church. I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by two of their responses. There are certainly properties out there waiting for us to find them!
This first one has a 78,000 square foot building for sale or lease (only $4990/month!):
Hello John,
My love for God and the desire to spread Christ's message is great. Unfortunately, my family has $500,000 in debt related to the building that needs to be paid off.It it my desire to have our building used as a center for the spread of the Word. I just haven't been able to see how to do it.
Having worked in Detroit for most of my life, I can tell you there are wonderful people here, and wonderful people who need to be revived.
I do believe our building would make a great new wine skin for the right organization. It's a great location that is easy to get to and has thousands of people a day driving past. It has a good place to meet, reasonable offices and great parking (80 car fenced parking plus street parking). It even has a raised area in one room…great for leading a worship.
I just haven't been able to figure out how to make the whole package work for the groups I've talked with. Maybe I (old wine skin) have not been flexible enough, have not opened my ears and stretched my mind. Differing from one of your talks, I don't need common sense, but instead uncommon sense.
It might be good to see the building to know if it fits into what is God is reveling to you…or it might spark another revelation…maybe not including us but something much greater.
And this one is also very interesting:
John,
Thank you for your request. I unfortunately am not in a position to be able to make such a gift. The building most likely would not be suitable either. Wrong zoning and not enough parking would only be a few issues.
I wish you success in finding what you are looking for. Be persistent. Those arrangements are possible. In another line of work, I am currently working for a charity, reviewing the feasibility of the charity accepting the gift of a 100,000 square foot building for their operations.
Steve
There you have it. Will you partner with us? You can contact me directly at [email protected] or 313.799.3473. You can donate online at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/donate.
Thank you! I can’t wait to hear from you! And, BY ALL MEANS, forward this on to all of your friends!!! They may have the connection we’re looking for!!