John Wesley once said,
"Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergyman or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth."
What a thought! We live in an interesting era for the church, in which there is a great desire to see positive "church growth" and strong "church administration". To be sure, the former phrases are noble ventures and vitally important to the life of the church. However, it seems that the church begins to tread on precarious ground when these things become the primary aim of the people of God. Wesley offers us two profound thoughts from the teachings of Jesus, which are desiring God and fearing sin. What if we pursued strong growth over a passionate desire for God, and strong administration over a fear of sin? Is it better to have a throng of people whose love for Jesus is rivaled by American Idol or The Biggest Loser? Is success in Church ministry a well administrated congregation of sin oriented people? Could we dream of something more? I believe we are. What if the church had a greater hope, sought for something more than a large, cutting edge, well organized congregation? What if, instead of merely seeking to be mission driven, we were driven by an unfathomable mission? What if, like Wesley we desired to "Shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth." In his day, the very culture of England was shaken to its core, because John Wesley and a group of people called the Methodists dared to believe that such an impact could be made in the power of the Holy Spirit. Could we see such a culture altering event today? Yes, I believe it! Lord, where are those 100? Ah, not even 100, give us 50 and this world will not know what hit it. Where are those 50?
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Friday, September 23, 2011
Give us 50!!!
John Wesley once said,
"Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergyman or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth."
What a thought! We live in an interesting era for the church, in which there is a great desire to see positive "church growth" and strong "church administration". To be sure, the former phrases are noble ventures and vitally important to the life of the church. However, it seems that the church begins to tread on precarious ground when these things become the primary aim of the people of God. Wesley offers us two profound thoughts from the teachings of Jesus, which are desiring God and fearing sin. What if we pursued strong growth over a passionate desire for God, and strong administration over a fear of sin? Is it better to have a throng of people whose love for Jesus is rivaled by American Idol or The Biggest Loser? Is success in Church ministry a well administrated congregation of sin oriented people? Could we dream of something more? I believe we are. What if the church had a greater hope, sought for something more than a large, cutting edge, well organized congregation? What if, instead of merely seeking to be mission driven, we were driven by an unfathomable mission? What if, like Wesley we desired to "Shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth." In his day, the very culture of England was shaken to its core, because John Wesley and a group of people called the Methodists dared to believe that such an impact could be made in the power of the Holy Spirit. Could we see such a culture altering event today? Yes, I believe it! Lord, where are those 100? Ah, not even 100, give us 50 and this world will not know what hit it. Where are those 50?
"Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergyman or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth."
What a thought! We live in an interesting era for the church, in which there is a great desire to see positive "church growth" and strong "church administration". To be sure, the former phrases are noble ventures and vitally important to the life of the church. However, it seems that the church begins to tread on precarious ground when these things become the primary aim of the people of God. Wesley offers us two profound thoughts from the teachings of Jesus, which are desiring God and fearing sin. What if we pursued strong growth over a passionate desire for God, and strong administration over a fear of sin? Is it better to have a throng of people whose love for Jesus is rivaled by American Idol or The Biggest Loser? Is success in Church ministry a well administrated congregation of sin oriented people? Could we dream of something more? I believe we are. What if the church had a greater hope, sought for something more than a large, cutting edge, well organized congregation? What if, instead of merely seeking to be mission driven, we were driven by an unfathomable mission? What if, like Wesley we desired to "Shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth." In his day, the very culture of England was shaken to its core, because John Wesley and a group of people called the Methodists dared to believe that such an impact could be made in the power of the Holy Spirit. Could we see such a culture altering event today? Yes, I believe it! Lord, where are those 100? Ah, not even 100, give us 50 and this world will not know what hit it. Where are those 50?
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