Family Revival=Church Revival, Part 1

It is time for me to get straight to the point. We can talk all day about what is wrong with the American church, but I would rather talk about some solutions.

I think one of the biggest problems with the body of Christ today is that we have forgotten that we are to be a "house of living stones" not a house of segregated programs. And in case you were wondering, no, I'm not talking about a specific church. This is a universal problem in the American church. If my statements here apply to one, they apply to most.

It seems to me that for about the last 10 years pastors and church leadership have been trying to solve the problems of a lack of depth/discipleship and connection in their congregations.
Can I propose that the answer is not more programs, but fewer?!

As people get busier, they connect with others less- even if others are involved in that same busy-ness. As people are hammered with more and more information, they retain less of it. Simply creating another program with new curriculum and new vision to cast will not solve this problem-it will only add to it.

I believe that the loss of spiritual maturity and connectedness in our churches is directly related to the loss of the family as the central building block for the church community. This divorcing of church and family life started slowly occuring years ago as we began to depend on the church building, church staff and church programs to accomplish what every believer is called to accomplish in the context of the home.

I certainly plan on writing more about this (a wise person once told me that more people will actually read your blog entry if you keep it short), but let me end with a question.

How many programs would really be necessary if families truly functioned scripturally with:

• the husband loving his wife by selflessly washing her in the water of the word (Eph 5:25-27),
• and the father (with the support and help of the mother) raising up children in the wisdom and instruction of the Lord, teaching them diligently to obey what God has said (Eph 6:4, Deut 6:7)
• and children who honor their father and their mother not forsaking their teaching (Eph 6:1-3, Deut 5:16, Prov 1:8)?

Sounds like a perfect "small group" ministry that doesn't require another meeting per week. The best part is, it was designed by God and not man!

More later...

God Owns Your Time

Last night and this morning I have been feeling the Lord deal with me about my time. He has been sharing a very simple truth with me, "Ryan, your time is not your own, it's Mine."

What a simple, yet revolutionary thought! My minutes do not belong to me! This means that if I am going to call Jesus "Lord," I am going to have to return my minutes to the rightful Owner. He has granted me the minutes of my life as a gift to accomplish His purposes. What does it say to Him when I waste those minutes on unfruitful ventures?

I find myself often thinking about obedience to the Lord as saying yes to Him when He asks something of me. That is true, but I think it is only a part of obedience to God. I think I also need to start making my minutes obedient to Him. For me, this brings new meaning to 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

So now I see that my minutely question to myself needs to be, "Does my activity this minute bring glory to God?" There are many categories of activities that would cause me to answer yes to this question: preparing my mind for action, working at my job as unto the Lord, showing love to a neighbor, praying, leading my family to walk with God, resting (this is different than being lazy), taking care of my body, studying the Bible... you get the idea. Activities that cause me to answer no to this question are contained in the category of disobedience.

Ephesians 5
15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (ESV-emphasis mine)