Posts Tagged ‘prayer’
You are NOT the church : The scattering movement : What about church online?
THE SCATTERING MOVEMENT
To say that I’m concerned would be a gross understatement. There is a scattering movement in the nation that’s causing deep harm to the mission of the church. This scattering of believers is so widespread that we are seeing theologies and philosophies emerging that support the idea that it’s actually healthy to disband and withdraw. It becoming common to hear people say things like, “The church isn’t a building,” or, “I am the church, so I don’t have to go ‘to church’.” The idea is that people have become so wounded or dissatisfied with their experience in the church that they have decided that it’s not only better but actually biblically acceptable to minimize participation in an organized church setting. This mindset is threatening the corporate mission to a terrifying degree.YOU ARE NOT THE CHURCH
If we understand the meaning of the word ‘church’ we could never presume that we alone are the church. That idea is contrary to the origin of the word (ekklesia, meaning “assembly”). In fact, that word has secular origins. It literally means an assembly of people who have been called together by an authority in the city or region. Wow! That sheds a lot of light on what the church is. The church is an assembly of people organized under defined governmental leadership. It’s a regular gathering of people who are deeply agreed and in pursuit of mission advance under God’s apostles, prophets and other governmental leaders. Further, the pure definition of the word reveals that it isn’t used as easily in the context of the global company of believers as it is in the regional and local gathering of believers. The definition reveals that it’s a well defined local group vs. a loosely defined larger group of people (who mostly don’t know each other at all). We can’t be a part of the church if we aren’t gathered together with other parts of the church. Church is corporate. Additionally, the church is a group of people who assemble, fellowship, pray and respond together to apostolic teaching. That can’t happen in a more nebulous global context. The church has inherent in it’s core call the expectation of assembly and a corporate response so as to ensure the local mission is fulfilled. Again, a fulfilled mission can’t be realized without this type of intentional and faithful participation at a local level where communication and commonality are clearly defined.WHAT ABOUT HAVING CHURCH ONLINE?
I agree that there is much to enjoy and gain from this amazing technological world. We can watch church services online (I was watching one myself just tonight), listen to worship, meet Christians in forums and on Facebook, pray for one another and involve ourselves in Kingdom business in very unique ways. However, if this is the limit of one’s involvement, there are some key issues to be considered:- DEVOID OF APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP—There is most probably (there are exceptions) no clearly defined apostolic leadership involved. We have to know who we’re called to serve with. We have to all hear, together, in our local congregation, how we are to respond in mission advance. What’s God calling our leaders to focus on? How are we to participate? What are the goals? What steps must we take to prepare ourselves to see this come to pass?
- LACK OF STRATEGIC CORPORATE INTERCESSION—While not impossible, it’s very hard to involve ourselves in the number one purpose of the church this way—corporate intercession. We just have to be together to pray with unity and consistency if we are to have the sufficient strength to see significant impact.
- NO ACCOUNTABILITY—Accountability and discipline are nearly non-existent outside of the context of the local church. Most who flock from the church and into alternative spiritual activities do so to avoid conflict, accountability and correction from leadership. We have to understand that this is a critical part of the refining process. We must be receptive and humble and ready to be challenged—even if the leaders God established for us are exceptionally flawed and out of touch with our needs.
- PROMOTES MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH—It can quite easily reinforce a wrong understanding of the purpose of the church. I would say this is the most serious issue. The prevailing thought these days is that the church is there for us. Whatever needs we have, we can get many of them met in the church. So, we attend if we are ministered to. Or, we may determine that we can get what we’re looking for without regular church attendance. So, the church becomes unnecessary to us. Friend, this concept is a defilement of the church. I can’t say it any less striking than that. We are called to gather together with other believers primarily to intercede for the nations. We are there to give, to leave offerings, to serve, to minister, to pray, to grow. The church isn’t primarily there for us, we are to be there for the mission of the church. We may say that we don’t need the church but have we considered that the church needs us?
Crisis in the church : Misunderstanding of the purpose of the church
I just tweeted:
I don't buy into the ‘church isn't a building' mantra we hear so much. Church requires corporate gathering. Acts 2 model. Daily in the temple.~www.twitter.com/johneburton
I don’t know if most realize it, but we are very literally at what might be the greatest crisis point in the church in history—certainly in recent history.
Everywhere you look you see pastors promoting short, ‘schedule friendly’, casual commitment style church services. There’s validation of our ridiculously oversaturated American daily agendas via the diminished emphasis in the church of the corporate gathering.
Now, there’s are several reasons why average church attendance in the nation has dropped below two services a month. One of them is the reality that it’s becoming rare to find a place that full of the fire and passion of God.
While we must stay radically faithful and connected at a high level regardless of how vibrant the services are, we must also refuse to settle for anything less than tongues of fire resting on everybody!
THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH
It’s unreasonable to presume that there is only one purpose of the church, and there isn’t enough time to dive into all of them. However, we must start at the point where reformation and redefinition is necessary.
Most people, pastors and congregants alike, presume the church is primarily setup to meet needs. You see this play out through church marketing all the time. You hear words and terms like ‘relevance’, ‘come as you are’, ‘world class children’s ministry’, etc.
While we should have world class ministries, the problem is that many pastors and leaders have forsaken their prophetic mantle of challenge and advance for one of salesman. The call must not be to check out our church because of what it offers, but we must have fire coming out of our mouths as we declare the inconvenient word of the Lord!
Simply, the church is not primarily there to simply meet the needs of the people, but rather it is to gather and equip the people (meeting their needs in the process!) AND ensure the people are together, strong, alert and in position night and day so the church can accomplish it’s mission.
Another way to say it is this: The mission of the church isn’t to draw people in and meet their needs, but rather it is to gather people and develop the corporate strength necessary to fulfill the greater mission.
People must not use the church to meet their needs… and stop participating when they are ‘full’. I challenge everybody at Revival Church to arrive at the service full (through personal prayer, study, etc.) and overflowing so we can focus on our corporate mission together.
At most churches, summers, for example, see a huge drop in participation. They will cancel services and special events. This cannot be! We can’t allow our personal schedules to violate the holy call to the corporate gathering. For example, at IHOP in Kansas City, they pray and worship 24/7. They don’t take any breaks. They pray and worship on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and every other day of the year. They pray and worship right through the Super Bowl while other churches actually cancel or shorten services in honor of that holy day (lower case ‘h’).
I believe when we start looking at the church as an supernaturally organized army of likeminded, alert, responsive and burning men and women of God, we’ll actually be able to see entire cities taken for the Kingdom!
Thoughts?
Audio and Notes : Massive change in the church : New Teachings
There’s a message of reformation that’s been burning within me for years, and it’s intensified radically since I moved to Detroit.
In a day where normal church attendance means less than two times per month, there’s an alarm sounding for the soldiers of God to gather corporately on a continual basis! I believe we’ll move from two days a month to over twenty. We’ll be receiving apostolic instruction on Sunday, responding strategically as a corporate body on Monday and Tuesday and through the rest of the week. Prayer will be 24/7. Ministry to the lost will have dramatic impact. Everybody will raise their families in a revival atmosphere of fire day after day!
Martin Luther brought us a reformation of doctrine. Today, we need a reformation of culture. Churches are limiting services to an hour or even less today. Why? Because they have become reactive to the demands of people instead of being drivers of the culture!
Busy lives and full calendars have demanded that the church submit and drop in priority—or die.
I taught on this last night, and you can listen to it now at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching. It’s titled A Drama for the Ages.
This call isn’t for the feint of heart. Many are what I call revival participants. They will jump in when the outpouring comes.
But, the outpouring won’t come if we have a revival participant mindset. We must be revival builders.
I’ll include the notes below for you to follow along with as you listen to the teaching.
There are also some other brand new teachings available:
- The Spirit of Pilate in the Church
- Six Enemies of Fulfilled Destiny (two parts, taught at the IHOPE Intensive)
A Drama for the Ages
I. The Blueprint
a. Joshua 3 is our blueprint, and we’ve focused on it considerably.
II. Joshua 3:16 (ESV) 16 …And the people passed over opposite Jericho.
i. A massive focus on the church, on preparing the army will come before we find ourselves staring at the city of Detroit.
ii. We need to pray for revelation so we can understand the magnitude of this mission that we are involved in.
iii. We’re about to be in the middle of a magnificent drama that will compare to some of the most magnificent times in history.
iv. The skeleton outline for Joshua 3 is:
1. Be alert and in position
2. Sanctify yourselves
3. Carry the presence of God
4. We’ve never been this way before
5. Step into an impossible situation
6. Cross over opposite Jericho
b. Understand, you are not simply sitting in a church.
i. This isn’t just a place to gather together, to worship God and to grow in the Word. It is that, but much, MUCH more.
ii. You are sitting in a Joshua 3 level military operation where normal people are about to do extraordinary things—and the masses will be changed forever.
iii. We are fervently calling people from all over Detroit to gather and follow the Joshua 3 protocol of readiness, holiness and wild faith.
III. Radical Preparation
a. We’re in the phase where we are awaiting dramatic deliverance and miracles, we’re setting a pattern of Kingdom living that results in extremely dramatic manifestations of God’s provision, glory and intervention.
i. The cost is crazy huge!
ii. I understand Detroit is tired and discouraged, but we cannot simply look for a quick fix. It’s imperative that every one of us understand that this call is a severe one, and this mission is the big one.
iii. God was ensuring that the Israelites understood the magnitude of their season of advance as well.
1. The precision of leadership that Joshua was exhibiting was phenomenal.
2. After this wild river crossing he told people to run back into the dry riverbank and bring back some heavy stones. They immediately responded.
iv. Joshua 4:4-7 (ESV) 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
1. God was drilling home the extent of his power and how deeply involved in their process he was. Remember this! I told you in Joshua 3:5 that I would be working wonders and I was true to my word.
2. This was mentioned way back in Exodus:
a. Exodus 13:11 (ESV) 11 “When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you,
b. Exodus 13:14 (ESV) 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
3. What memorial stones do you have?
4. We can look back over the last 14 years of our marriage, and I can look even further back than that and fill a notebook with miracle after miracle of God working in dramatic fashion in our lives.
5. Having memorial stones will make it easy to advance through mission after mission, season after season—and you’ll have something to share with your kids!
b. Joshua 4:13-14 (ESV) 13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
i. 40,000 people ready for war.
ii. I’m looking for 1000 intercessors.
iii. What caused them to be ready for war?
1. Radical intentionality
2. Being together and in position
3. Carrying God’s presence—a lifestyle of intercession
4. Watching God move in power
5. Remembering what God had done
c. Joshua 4:23-24 (ESV) 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”
i. God desires to establish a testimony, to function in dramatic fashion so that people know he’s mighty and that we fear him.
ii. We aren’t there yet. We’re in the process prior to this, which means we must follow the instructions of God carefully.
iii. It’s worth it! A city will be taken!
d. Joshua 5:1 (ESV) 1 As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.
i. This is a significant goal! In order to take Detroit, we must cause fear of God to settle into the principalities and powers over the city.
ii. This was a fulfillment of a recent prophecy:
1. Joshua 2:24 (ESV) 24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.”
iii. Now, you’d think that the Israelites would be full of fire and ready to charge ahead.
1. In fact, they might have been.
2. But God understood the magnitude of the mission and the struggle that man has with pride, with emotions getting the best of them.
3. So, bring out the knives!
e. Joshua 5:2 (ESV) 2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.”
1. And here’s a ‘duh’ verse:
f. Joshua 5:8 (ESV) 8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed.
1. Ummmm, yep. That’s what I’d be doing.
2. They went from being ready for war to whimpering in their tents.
3. Adam Clarke—When adults were circumcised they were obliged to keep their beds for about three weeks, or at least during that time they are not able to walk about but with great difficulty.
4. Adam Clarke—Joshua, as an able general, would at once perceive that this very measure must expose his whole host to the danger of being totally annihilated; but he knew that GOD could not err, and that it was his duty to obey; therefore in the very teeth of his enemies he reduced the major part of his army to a state of total helplessness, simply trusting for protection in the arm of Jehovah!
5. God didn’t call them to circumcision on the east side of the Jordan where they were safe from their enemies. He removed all measures of safety as he knew he was capable of protecting them all by himself—and he wanted them to know this too.
6. Not only were they immobilized, when they crossed over the Jordan, out of the wilderness, the manna stopped too. Everything was changing.
7. Joshua 5:11-12 (ESV) 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
g. Then, a dramatic encounter prepared them for what was coming next.
i. Joshua 5:13-15 (ESV) 13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
h. This launched Joshua and the Israelites into what was a dramatic and world shaking mission—the taking of Jericho.
i. Joshua 6:1-2 (ESV) 1 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 2 And the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.
IV. Conclusion
a. Do you understand the magnitude of this mission that you have been called into?
b. Under Moses there was disorder and dispute as people refused to move into the Promised Land.
c. Under Joshua everything changed.
d. What’s your plan? Are you ready? Alert? Sanctified? Circumcised? Ready for war?
e. Do you remember what God has done? What specifically are your memorial stones?
Gathering the hungry for revival in Detroit
We have been experiencing an overwhelming atmosphere at Revival Church recently—one young lady mentioned, with tears in her eyes A WEEK LATER, that she’s forever changed. The saturating presence of the Holy Spirit has resulted in many powerfully rocked people!
**Michele Perry said that she feels that the mission in Detroit is more difficult than her mission in Sudan. This means that we need the masses to join together each week as we strategically contend for an outpouring in Detroit.
What’s radically important in this season? Several key points:
- This is a season of gathering the hungry—As a regional center of revival, Revival Church is connecting with people from all over the area each week to contend for an outpouring.
- This is a season of precision positioning—Simply, those currently connected to Revival Church, and many other we have yet to meet are being awakened to the extreme need to be alert, in position and intentionally advancing the mission of revival.
- We are praying in pastors, leaders, intercessors, musicians, etc—As a regional revival center, it’s important that we have key city leaders on our team. We’re praying in people who are running the race of Kingdom advance in the region.
- Joy, freedom and abundant life are to be the norm—As we find ourselves deeply refreshed and healed in God’s presence each week as we minister to God and each other, the life of God will explode into our city.
So, can you help in this mission? It’s a big one and we can’t do it with a small team!
A few thoughts:
- Participate in prophetic prayer every Sunday from 5-6pm
- Bring friends, pastors, intercessors, family and others to our primary revival and refreshing event every week on Sunday at 6pm
- Join a small group
- Ask how your gift and passion fits at Revival Church
- Share the vision with pastors and leaders, and request they book a Revival Team in their church or at their camp or conference.
Ministry sites:
- www.johnburtonministries.com
- www.detroitrevivalchurch.com
- www.facebook.com/johnburton
- www.facebook.com/johnburtonministries
- www.facebook.com/detroitrevivalchurch
- www.twitter.com/detroitrevival
- www.twitter.com/johneburton
We can’t wait to see you THIS SUNDAY at 6pm!
Also, don’t forget to REGISTER for October’s THE THINNING OF THE VEIL conference with Michele Perry! Discounted registration through June!
www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events
Blessings!!
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?
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?
1000 Prophetic Intercessors : Revival Church Detroit Strategy
Our intercessors, ministry staff and I are deeply in the place of prayer in our current season concerning the advance of LIFE and the power of Jesus in Detroit.
This will be no small movement. Mega. That’s the word that God has burned in my spirit. We have an opportunity to dream and see well beyond our own abilities right now—God is provoking many in this region to awaken, move into position and cry out for fire from Heaven!
The Revival Church strategy continues to unfold, and it has become clear that the foundation of night and day prophetic prayer all across the region must be developed—and quickly. It’s time to decree and declare in unity. The groans of our spirit must roar out in unison!
Romans 8:22-23 (ESV) 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:26 (NIV) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
1000 PROPHETIC INTERCESSORS
There are three types of people we are seeking to identify:
- People who will be uniquely connected with Revival Church team on Sundays and other key times of the week to prophetically pray and advance the mission. They will additionally help serve and give leadership to our satellite churches and ministries in the area, our traveling revival team and other Revival Church entities.
- People who are connected primarily with other ministries of the city church of Detroit, and want to be counted among the 1000 prophetic intercessors.
- People from other parts of the nation and the world who sense a calling to contend for revival in Detroit and desire to be a part of the 1000 intercessors.
All three groups will be intentionally connected with the Revival Church team via a weekly interactive radio show. That show currently airs on Mondays at 8pm EST at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/radio.
Additionally, the 1000 intercessors will receive “Rhema style” prayer points each week as we receive them in prayer. They will also be responsible to report back any prophetic data they receive concerning the mission.
REGIONAL STRATEGIC IMPACT
Revival Church is a prophetic and apostolic ministry that has a mandate of helping facilitate revival. As a prophetic revival command center we desire to communicate with other likeminded leaders and help develop strategy for our area.
Revival Church itself will have a central hub, a command center. Out of that central ministry, our plan is to launch satellite churches and ministries in several different sections of the Detroit region. While we will develop according to God’s timeline, our vision is to see twelve or more churches planted throughout Detroit. As a multi-site ministry of night and day prayer for the region, and as we work closely with other churches and ministries, we will develop the reach and the leadership necessary to cover Detroit in continual intercession, ministry and the fire of revival.
If you would like to consider joining with us at any of the levels, we would love to connect. If you are a ministry leader and would like to consider working with us as a partner ministry, let us know. Our heart is to develop a “Revelation Driven Network of Ministries” all around the world.
You can email me at [email protected] or call me at 313.799.FIRE.
Let’s see Detroit experience a fiery outpouring of the Holy Spirit right on schedule!
John Burton
Flags and Fire : Special service tonight at Revival Church
People couldn’t stop raving about Amy Smith’s flag ministry teaching and demonstration they took part in at a special event recently.
Well, I LOVE flags! I feel there is a significant breaker anointing on the ministry of flagging, and I want you to understand the purpose and strategy behind their use.
As I often say, we can beat the devil with fabric and a stick! 
Tonight, at 6pm sharp, we’ll begin the night with Amy’s teaching and demonstration, and then move into worship.
And, don’t forget, the most important hour of the week—prophetic prayer from 5-6pm!
That’s not a catchy phrase to convince more people to show up for prayer—I believe it’s an accurate statement. Throughout my ministry, from the days as a volunteer youth minister in Dayton to our youth events in San Diego to the church plant in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and now here in Detroit the pre-service prayer has ALWAYS been the most important time of the week. No comparison.
Without being fueled by God together in that place of zealous, contending and declarative prayer, it’s like showing up to race at the Indy 500 without filling up the tank with gas.
So, come tonight at 5pm if you can, and certainly at 6pm for a night of flags and fire!
Special prayer for Detroit TONIGHT
FIRST: Let’s spread the word about the vision of Revival Church! Point your friends to our new welcome magazine! Send Facebook status updates, tweets, emails and whatever else you can to get the word out! I did the hard part (designed it!) 🙂 and now I need your help! Point people to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/welcome.
SECOND: In lieu of our Wednesday prayer meeting, join me online for a LIVE video broadcast! We’ll gather a larger group together for prayer, discussion and teaching at 7pm every Wednesday. Just head to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/live!
I’ll be at a special prayer meeting tonight (Friday) from 11pm-1am, and would like to invite you to join me!
I’ll be at IHOPE as usual at 7pm, and will then head on over to the prayer meeting.
Here’s all the info that I received:
Dear Praying Friends,
Bishop James Williams has asked me to lead a prayer time called Midnight Cry at Spirit and Truth Ministries this Friday at 11:00 pm til about 1 am. You can read the details below. This is an important opportunity to seek God for the metro region.
I would love for you to come and join in this united calling out to God. This "city" church is enlarging its vision for the whole region. I SOO appreciate Bishop Williams larger than normal desire to see God affect the region and build bridges to the suburbs! Will you encourage him by standing with him and the sweet people of Spirit and Truth?
The details are below. Let me know if you can go. Feel free to extend this invitation to others.
Humbly,
Eric Moore
Greetings Eric and thank you for consenting to share with us this coming Friday in our Midnight Cry prayer service. The month of January is our Month of Outpouring. It is a time of consecration when we come together to worship and pray and to hear prophetic direction from the Lord for the course of the new year.
This year we are having special services every Sunday afternoon and the Midnight Cry services every Friday at 11:00 p.m. Scriptures tell us that Paul and Silas prayed at midnight from the Roman prison and God responded by opening the prison doors and loosing their bonds. We expect God to open doors and loose bondage over His people in this new season.
We really have no set agenda. Last week for example, each of our Intercessors, who have been given specific assignments to cover individual ministries of the church, were given opportunity to lead prayer in their specific areas of responsibility. Then, we heard from a visiting evangelist and a visiting Bishop. I gave some closing words of prophecy and prayer and we were done.
I'm looking for you to help us expand our prayer beyond our ministry and our people and help us pray strategically over this region. You and your guests are free to move as the Spirit leads you. I'll begin and we'll just move from there. We're usually done about 1:00 a.m. but that's not set in stone – a little before or a little after is fine.
Hope this helps. See you Friday.Blessed to Prosper in the Year of Harvest (Lev.25:22; Ps.126:1, 5)
Bishop James A. Williams, II.
SPIRIT & TRUTH CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES
KINGDOM BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF FULL GOSPEL CHURCHES & MINISTRIES
1335 Oakman Boulevard, Det. MI 48238
(313)-867-7729
Rescues in Haiti : Prayer simply works
Prayer works. If it didn’t, it would be foolish to spend time and energy praying.
Last night at Revival Church, and I’m confident at churches all around the world, prayers were released for the people of Haiti.
At Revival Church we specifically prayed for rescue. We cried out for trapped people to be miraculously found and set free.
I’m so blessed by this CNN report of several rescues since Sunday, six days since the Earthquake.
Check it out:
After 6 days in university's rubble, student's prayers answered
By Arthur Brice, CNN
January 18, 2010 10:42 p.m. EST
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Writhing in pain in the fetal position, Maxine Fallon prayed fiercely for someone to find her beneath the ruins of what was once her university. She forced herself to stay conscious. Her sister visited the leveled site each day in hope of hearing her voice.
"I had hoped I would be rescued," Fallon said.
The 23-year-old, first-year student was finally found and rescued on Monday, nearly a week after a massive earthquake flattened much of Haiti. She said she didn't believe anyone else was alive in the wreckage of the university.
She cried when asked about the smell of death surrounding her as she waited for help.
A CNN crew in the Haitian capital Monday was flagged to the scene at Universite G.O.C. as a Peruvian search-and-rescue team pulled Fallon out of the remains of the flattened school. Rescuers rushed to the scene after hearing reports that text messages had been sent from beneath the rubble, said paramedic Clever Sobrino, who added that rescuers would continue to look for survivors at the site.
Fallon was treated by a Peruvian doctor and taken to a U.N. treatment center on the back of a CNN truck. She was drifting in and out of consciousness, according to reporters at the scene. She was later transported to a field hospital in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petionville for further treatment.
Latest updates | Full coverage
Despite going days without food or water, victims have clung to life awaiting rescue, and successful recoveries from the rubble of Port-au-Prince have not abated.
Earlier, 6-year-old Jessica Hartelin was pulled from the rubble by local residents and rushed to a field hospital set up by Israelis at a Port-au-Prince soccer field.
On Sunday, five people were rescued from the rubble of a grocery store, officials told CNN, 24 hours after the effort to reach them began.
Three of the people trapped in the ruins of the Caribbean Supermarket — a man, a 13-year-old girl and a 50-year-old American woman — were rescued during the day by a joint New York fire and police department search-and-rescue team.
High-resolution photos of damage | Google map
Late Sunday night, a Creole-speaking man and woman were rescued from the store's ruins by teams from Miami, Florida, and Turkey. The man came out first, picking his head up off the stretcher carried by his rescuers and giving the thumbs-up sign. He said he had been eating peanut butter and jelly from the store to survive.
As of Sunday, more than 60 people had been found alive by rescue teams from the United States and other nations, Tim Callaghan of the U.S. Agency for International Development told reporters. American teams have rescued about 30 of those, he said.