Dying to Self

The Desperate Need for Statesmen

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So a Republican whose major claim to fame is going nude in Cosmo is the new senator from Massachusetts. And conservatives everywhere are rejoicing.

Forgive me if I don’t blow a horn and wear a silly hat.

No, I can’t get pumped about yet another political lightweight who drank the party-line Kool-Aid and talks about real change. Frankly, the Democrats and Republicans are true to one goal only : their own political ambitions.

Can I ask a simple question? Here it is:

Where are the statesmen?

America is in bad shape. Honestly, I think the collective wound is deeper and more threatening than anyone in D.C. cares to admit. And that wound is only going to get deeper if we don’t throw the bums out and put some serious people on Capitol Hill. People who do what is right, not because it is makes the bigwigs happy, but because they fear God.

What we need are statesmen. Folks who don’t go all weak in the knees when the GOP party chairman calls ’em up on the line or Barney Frank blows ’em a kiss. People who remember the point of this country. People who don’t pass laws just because. People of deep convictions that can’t be sold to the highest bidder. Intellectuals with big hearts, who are widely read and understand history. People with a spine, who can stand up to dictators around the globe and not flinch (or bow).

We need guys like Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Remember them?

And this terrible lack of statesmen applies to the American Church. The national stage of Christian leaders is littered with lightweights who have the wrong motivations, wrong answers to difficult questions, and no vision.

Jesus called Simon a rock. He said He would build His Church on a rock like that.

But where are those rocks today? Where are those kinds of Church statesmen in America 2010? Seriously, can you name a half dozen Christian players on the national stage today considered to have a brilliant mind and a heart of compassion?

I admit that part of the problem here is that the kind of personality that makes for a genuine Church statesman is the humble one that stays out of the limelight and isn’t listening to himself on Christian radio.

Still, desperate times call for humble, nameless Church statesmen to rise up.

Call them prophets if you will. Call them the mighty heroes of old. But for all our sakes, someone, anyone, please call them! We need Christians like that from every profession and walk of life.

And we need them now.

Not to Us

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On the back of last week’s post (“Your Holy Spirit Is W-A-Y Too Safe“), I want to add an addendum.

In some charismatic circles, much is being made of the recent “outpouring” at the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. Now it appears that Rick Joyner’s MorningStar Ministries has brought in Todd Bentley of the infamous Lakeland (Fla.) “revival,”  and, of course, we’re getting claims of a fresh wave of glory and outpourings (HT: Bene D). And yes, Mike Bickle of IHOP recently spoke there, bringing it all full circle. (See Bentley’s tweets starting Jan. 6 for the blow-by-blow.)

I’m writing this Sunday evening, Jan. 10, but I want to take us back a couple weeks to Christmas.

When the Messiah was born into the world, the people who got the notification were those on the fringes. Shepherds. Wise men from the East. Not the greater nation of Jews; they missed it.

Should churches see revival in the days ahead, I believe that those touched by genuine moves of the Holy Spirit are going to be those OUTSIDE traditional charismatic church venues. These will be churches where people have been earnestly praying for God to shake them out, churches filled with people most desiring of repentance, not charismata. They will be people who are waiting expectantly for God to manifest Himself in their midst in a way they are not willing to plan, a move that happens on God’s timetable and God’s way. And that move will excite people whose bookshelves are devoid of tomes by Bickle, Joyner, Hagin, Roberts, and so on.

Most of all, I think if such a revival comes, it will be among humble people who can’t point back with pride and say, “Look at all the revivals we helped birth! Look at all the gifts we’ve manifested and how God has used us! Look how doggone charismatic we are.”

In other words, should we have revival break out in churches in the next few years, it’s not going to be among the usual suspects.

Your Holy Spirit Is W-A-Y Too Safe

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One of the few Godbloggers I’ve met in person is Jared Wilson, author of Your Jesus Is Too Safe. We chowed down on McDonald’s in Nashville one night and talked writing.

I like the title of Jared’s book. Yet the more I think about it, the more I think that it’s not Jesus who causes the most trouble for Christians.

It’s the Holy Spirit.El Greco's Pentecost

When the Holy Spirit shows up in power in a church, the status quo changes. Those people especially touched by Him, ones who were often sideline sitters, suddenly are empowered to take on new roles and responsibilities within the body of Christ. The old ways of doing church fall into line with God’s way. Distracting programs and costly plans end up abandoned. Miracles happen. The charismatic gifts break out. And on and on.

And that threatens a lot of people. Especially those in charge.

The Holy Spirit’s penchant for busting up idols in a church, no matter how cherished they might be, is one of the most unnerving realities some church leaders face. Some denominations even take a formal stance against anything “charismatic” happening in their churches. Books are written by “safe” Christian authors/pastors/leaders about the need to keep “that stuff” down. You hear supposedly mature Christians ranting about what they don’t want the Holy Spirit to do in their churches.

So much for faith and humble submission! And while we’re at it, let’s just scrap the empowering for miraculous ministry, too.

So while Jesus may be relegated by some to a meek and mild Good Shepherd position, in too many churches the Holy Spirit is denied and unwanted because He’s perceived as downright threatening.

Why is the Church in America so timid and powerless? This issue is a great place to start.

Something to think about for 2010 and beyond.