(-Image by wallyg via Flickr)

When I was a kid growing up in the 50’s and 60’s it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood and everyone our family knew were Christians. But no one really called themselves Christians, it was somewhat assumed–everyone was divided up as either Catholic or Protestant.

Then secondarily if you were Protestant you were also identified as a Baptist, Methodist, or whatever. Oh yes, there was the family at the end of the street that was Jewish–they were Americans also.

I remember being asked at the start of every school year whether I was Protestant or Catholic, we had Bible study once a week–Catholics went to the Catholic class and Protestants to the Protestant. My best friend in 6th grade was Jewish, don’t remember where he went during that time.

If you went into the army in those days your dogtags reflected 3 basic choices–Protestant, Catholic, and Jew. Never really knew anyone growing up that had no religion at all. America has obviously changed in the last 50 years or so.

Somewhere along the way In the 70’s and 80’s, born-again Christians who continued to recognize Biblical authority started calling themselves ‘Evangelicals’ to be differentiated from some of the more liberal main-line Protestants.

Now according to a recent poll, the country is far more diverse and divided than it use to be when it comes to religion. Now ‘none’ — no religion at all– is a larger group in America than Catholic and Evangelical has replaced Protestant as the most popular generic Christian label and one of the largest denomination groups is ‘non-denominational Christian’.

In a MinistryToday article- “God as a Fashion Statement” –it says the following about the growing “None” classification–

they represent a growing 15% of the population but as one researcher noted:

“These people aren’t secularized, they’re not thinking about religion and rejecting it; they’re not thinking about it at all.”

The survey found that among the ‘nones’, 40 percent of them had never experienced any kind of religious ceremony (e.g., baptism, christening, bar mitzvah), and a shocking 55 percent had been married in some sort of non-religious ceremony with no religious reference or trappings at all. Even more shocking , one state–Vermont has 34% of its population in the ‘none’ category, far more than any religious group in the state.

The article ends with this observation:

“The challenge to Christianity, does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion.”

I found many articles on the Internet citing the poll, nearly all proclaim and conclude that America is far less religious than it use to be. Something most of us already know. Another indication that change is ahead for the American Church one way or another.          

In response to David Wilkerson’s “An Urgent Message”, I have been searching out some of the things that I believe that the Lord has been telling me lately to see if they compliment his message in any way.

Here are some of the things that I believe that the Lord has been telling me over and over again in the last 6 months or so. As with any message of this sort discernment is in order:

-America has turned a corner and it will never be the same for better or worse. I don’t know exactly what that means for the future of America but it is not the wrath of God but a time of choices. It will be a time of blessing for those who accept what the Lord offers and not so for those who reject his grace.

-The economy of America is going to go through some major upheavals but a ‘Kingdom economy’ will be available to the churches and Christians who respond. Already the lord is beginning to give out incredible inventions to faithful Christians that will change not only America but the whole world. Many Christians who faithfully respond to God’s ‘Kingdom economy’ will find themselves in positions of influence like Joseph and Daniel of old.

-It is a time where God’s justice will be in play. Those who are in tune and help the poor, release the captives, bind-up the broken-hearted, and heal the sick will receive incredible blessing from the Lord on many different levels.

-The American church is called to make major changes and the new wineskins will be demonstrated by key churches across the whole country. Canada also.

-I was looking in the last 7 years for a major revival to dramatically change the American culture and bring it back towards the Lord. Something changed last year and a corner was turned last fall around the time of the Jewish new year. The picture I now see is one in which the culture is going one way and the faithful church is turning away to follow a different path under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This will bring the church under an increasing degree of persecution in the future but also increasing signs & wonders, miracles, healings, and blessings from the Lord.

-Right now the American church is at the crossroads. Some major main-line denominations are already in the process of choosing to continue with the dominant culture away from Biblical Christianity. The evangelical churches are now at that fork in the road. It is a time of choices.

Again, it is a time of choices. Some choices will bring discipline and judgment, others will bring incredible blessing.         

(-Picture of Times Square via Wikipedia)

On Saturday March 7, David Wilkerson put the following warning message on his blog:

AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE – EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.

For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires—such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.

There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting—including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath.

<<Read the whole message>>

Response: Do any of you prophetic folks out there have any light at all on this word? This thing has gone all around the world in 24 hours. I have no light on this at all.

One of the hardest things in the prophetic is timing. Is it really time for America to experience God’s wrath? Have we really gone past the point of no return? And what of the Christian community, how is God calling us to respond? I see no hope or guidance in this message at all.

He seems to be saying that the bottom will completely drop out of the economy and that it will be worse than even the great depression–that riots and civil unrest will follow.

Is there any other prophetic folks saying anything like this anywhere? Like I said, I have no light on this and I have a hard time relating to it at all, but I will be in prayer.   

       (picture via Wikipedia)

Another interesting quote about the state of the American church–found it on MinistryToday Online Magazine:

“The biblical New Testament church is vanishing from society today. Anything and everything is acceptable as long as it builds a crowd. Jesus wasn’t as interested in building a crowd as He was in telling the truth. Our responsibility as pastors and leaders is not to give people what they want necessarily but what they need.”

–Bob Pearle, pastor of Fort Worth’s Birchman Baptist Church and president of the Grapevine-based Southern Baptists of Texas, a conservative state convention.

In his latest book, The Vanishing Church, Pearle rails against the growing segment of American churches-particularly nondenominational, seeker-sensitive megachurches-that build their “product” to meet consumer demand based upon churchgoers surveys. “It’s a bankrupt philosophy,” the conservative preacher adds. [star-telegram.com, 2/28/09]

I found this quote today in the MinistryToday magazine. It is right on target with what I posted yesterday:

“We have to recognize that we’ve created the system that we loathe. I don’t think the reason 15 percent serve is because 85 percent are lazy. We’ve created a system that glorifies the clergy and marginalized the laity. We got the outcome we created programs for. We’ve become ‘clergified.’

There’s a three-tiered structure: laypeople, clergy and missionaries. … All religions tend to create a class of people who are above others so 1) they can revel in that and 2) the rest of us can say it’s their job.

Christianity was started without any of those structures, and ended up like so many false religions do when they create a ministry caste structure. When we see real movements of God take off, they happen when people are free.”

–Lifeway Research director Ed Stetzer [rev.org, 2/09]  

In the last post- “God Will Supply” -Dr. Bill Hamon gives his testimony about how God did supply what they needed. At the beginning he gives a short word for the church in 2009:

“As we continue to press through in 2009, I encourage you to listen to what the Lord is saying to you individually and to the body corporately. This is a year to “Arise and Shine to Align for Reformation.” God began a reforming process in the church in 2008, and He continues to mold and shape us into the vessel that He needs us to be to see His kingdom manifest in the earth.”

I really do believe that the Lord is beginning to remold and reform the American Church. At least the part that is faithful and trying to response to his Holy Spirit. This is a word that keeps coming back to me since the first of the year.

One of the issues that I believe that He wants to deal with is the huge gulf that exists in the American Church between Pastors/Preachers and so-called Laity or regular members. So many Christians have become just spectators in a Sunday morning show put on by professional musicians and professional ministers. This is particularly true in the huge mega churches in America and around the World.

The first Reformation brought the cookie jar down from the top shelf and made the Bible available to all members in their own language, not just the educated clergy.

One of the major issues of this current move I believe is to emphasize the “Priesthood of all Believers”–we are called to become the ‘Kingdom of Priests’ that was foretold in the scriptures–a Kingdom that manifests his presence on the earth:

“He has anointed me all of us-the entire Body of Christ-to preach the Gospel of Jesus and to heal the broken hearts, and to cause the blind to see, to cause the captives to be free, to proclaim the coming of the Lord.”

It is time for the whole church to be taught and trained to go into the world making disciples where we work, healing folks in the malls, providing for the poor, teaching in our homes, and praying for sick and sharing our testimonies in our neighborhoods.

As my old Pastor John Wimber used to say: “Everyone gets to play!”

Many times what we see happening in the natural is a symbol for what is also taking place in the spiritual realm. ‘Change’ was the word that we heard over and over again during the recent election. Now with a major change in presidential administration taking place this week it has become a reality in the natural.

As Barack Obama raised his hand and completed the oath of office for President of the USA, a new historical page was turned. Millions look forward with hope for positive changes for the better, while many others claim that America will never be the same and decline is on the horizon.  One thing for sure, for better or worse the voters chose to go new direction.

In trying to discern what God is now doing in his church in 2009, the word I hear again and again is ‘change’.  Just like we have turned the page in the natural, in the spiritual also a new direction is in front of the church in America. Many have sensed the need for change and movements like the ’emerging’ and ’emergent’ church movements were initiated in response to the perceived need.

For the entire 20th century the American church was part of the American culture. Early in the century the church dominated the culture while in the last 40 years or so the culture changed and began to dominate the church.

Now the American church is at the crossroads and must choose to follow the culture or where the Holy Spirit may lead. Some major denominations (like the Episcopal Church and the UCC) are already in the process of choosing to continue with the dominant culture away from Biblical Christianity. The Evangelical churches are now at that fork in the road.

I believe that churches which are fundamentalist/cessationalist will have a hard time surviving the onslaught of a dominant progressive/secular culture in the future. Meanwhile the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches are destined for major ‘change’–the old ‘wineskins’ will no longer be adequate for the task ahead. –More to come later on possible changes ahead.