Posts Tagged ‘church’
Time Magazine : Detroit financial reformation : The church
As I have often shared recently, I have felt since before we moved to Detroit in May that there is a coming two-fold spiritual AND financial revival.
The Church is in the midst of an opportunity unlike any other in our lifetime- to display the power, effectiveness and efficiency of biblical Kingdom financial principles.
Revival Church is in its infancy, yet we are determined to see a business department develop that will do the following:
- Offer deliverance from wrong mindsets, demonic influence and a spirit of poverty
- Train in biblical financial principles
- Equip people to develop new skills
- Actually have business opportunities identified for people to step in to
We don’t only want to offer hand outs- the goal is to see people proactively move from unemployment, welfare or sub-standard employment situations into health, prosperous and biblically sound new realities.
The testimony about Detroit should be: We cannot deny that God, His Church and biblical principles were the direct reason for financial revival in Detroit.
Here’s some snips and a link to an article by the folks in the recently purchased house here in Detroit- Time Magazine. I left a comment on that site.
http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2009/10/12/a-key-to-our-salvation/
A Key To Our Salvation?
Personally, I don't need to read any more "letters" to or from Detroit, but at least in this one Detroit native Ryan Mack offers a reasoned, proactive take on seedy businesses, our economic climate and what more we can do to change our material conditions.
Most intriguing to me is the following:
What would happen if churches learned how to combine forces and create economic development corporations? The largest employer in Queens, New York is Floyd Flake of Allen AME Church Cathedral and last I checked he has $30+ million Corporation with over $75 million in real estate assets. Other churches like Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, Harlem Congregations of Community Improvement, and the list goes on across the country of how churches have used their leverage for the greater good of the community. We can do the same in Detroit. If done right, an economic movement of the church can create thousands of jobs for the city of Detroit.
Whatever your position on faith and religion, do you think Detroit houses of worship can and should develop a broad-scale cooperative effort to attack the city's worst problems?
Local church/City church – The coming reformation
When I was leading Revolution House of Prayer in Manitou Springs, Colorado, a common theme was the establishment of the city church. I outlined this concept on the white boards there and we prayed into it fairly regularly.
Here’s a twelve minute podcast on this topic that will help you understand and also pray into the coming shift in Detroit. I write about this in my book 20 Elements of Revival as well.
http://www.cinchcast.com/praytherevolution/1769.mp3
In this City church model we’ll see local churches take on the identity of departments of the larger City church. People will participate at a high level at a primary local church and at lesser yet significant levels at a variety of other ministries.
This will enable one church to focus intently on the few callings in the primary giftings they have been given, while allowing other churches to function in their specific callings and giftings. Churches no longer have to attempt to cover every base. As we work together on a city level we can pool our strengths and giftings.
Someone may primarily be involved in a local church that mainly focuses on evangelism, while also attending other churches on other days and nights of the week that are geared toward teaching, youth, pastoral care, etc.
A great example is the house of prayer movement. They pray as their primary focus. People attend the house of prayer while also attending other churches at different points during the week.
Here’s a simple diagram of this idea from the vantage point of Manitou Springs, Colorado. We’ll see people involved in several different churches and ministries every week. I see this idea coming to Detroit and other cities as well. You can see the larger, easier to read version at http://praytherevolution.com/images/Manitou-Springs-Vision-Map.gif
