News & Stories

Radical Steps Required!

May 16, 2008

by Bill Malick

Will you take the opportunity of our lifetime for the sake of LIFE? Dwight Smith is engaged in ministry worldwide and speaks a message that is apostolic in nature. Frankly, I believe him. What I am about to share with you is what I am hearing from Dwight and confirmed by what God is over and again speaking into my life. The time for casually approaching this message is over!

The apostle John records the promising and piercing words of Jesus, “I come that you may have life and that you may have it abundantly.” I am pursuing the Lord asking to have Him drive this reality to the front of my consciousness.

Today there are about 27 million evangelicals attending church regularly in the United States. This represents about 9% of the total population. One out of eleven (source: The American Church in Crisis – Osborn).

There are 54 million MORE Americans in the U.S. today than there were in 1990. Compare that to the number of evangelicals and you must conclude that we are aggressively losing ground. That’s right we are aggressively losing ground and to make it worse—it is either on purpose or out of ignorance. It is a decision of the church to lose ground. Be angry with my assertion, but hear me all the way.

Dwight Smith astutely declares that “we organize our churches to collect people, not to invade our communities and cultures.” Herein lays the decision to look the other way and keep our churches content and unchallenged.

Back to John 10:10, every person who has been given new LIFE in Jesus Christ is promised abundant LIFE. Now, this is something that they will not experience by merely sitting in our churches, adding to our numbers. People are carefully and specifically designed to carry out God’s mission which is to bring LIFE, abundant LIFE. Ten out of eleven are not claiming the promise of eternal LIFE. Too many of the remaining, one out of eleven that have received Christ and the forever promise, are disconnected from the abundant part.

I agree again with Smith when he lays out God’s missional intent. “The God intent of the gathering moments in the church only set the environment . . . we must put instruments in place that force people down the path of invasion.”

There is no way that in three or four hours per month of teaching that your people, intended by God to be invading soldiers, can advance beyond a sedated conscience seared by growing spiritual obesity. If by now you are angry enough to cover your ears, well that is your prerogative. If you want to enter the fray of battle read the following article, “The Church . . . A Place for Distribution,” highlighting the strategy for full engagement. Your church will never be the same and you and your people will be on the road to become all Christ intends.