The following thoughts are by my good friend and accountability partner, Eric Lee. Please take a moment to read his account of the Verge Conference.
Revolution is a bit of a scary word. It drums up images of battlefields, fatigue, bloodshed, and chaos. As you journey through your life it seems inevitable that at some point you will be challenged to revisit the things you have considered “right,” “the norm,” “the expected,” to revolutionize your thinking and honestly, your entire life. It is for this reason that I like the word revolution. It does require radical movement, unforeseen steps of faith and a shifting of ideals. And I suppose it should be no surprise that God would ask for anything less. From it’s inception the history of Christianity has been rather revolutionary: requiring its followers to leave behind the pursuit of self-fulfillment and importance and follow instead after a God who offer true fulfillment, peace and so much with no strings attached.
But if you don’t stop and reassess, it’s easy to lose focus on the things you were fighting for to begin with. Enter the Church.
I grew up in church; I knew the stories and the songs. I could quote you the Bible, tell you what page Nehemiah started on and give you a quick rundown of the Minor Prophets. But I didn’t know God, not really. I didn’t have a relationship with Him and my life was anything but missional. I thought sharing Jesus was reciting a prepared script to my “heathen” classmate, or passing out an impeccably designed 1970’s four-fold tract that would somehow magically lead someone to faith. And I certainly hadn’t ever experienced the Holy Spirit beyond that nagging tug that coerced me into walking the aisle as a 6th grader instead of heading home to the cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream I knew awaited.
The last several months God has begun a major reworking, a revolution, in my thinking about His church and about what a relationship with Him is supposed to look like. And quite honestly, what He’s been teaching me has scared me. It means living a life of sacrifice, longing for suffering and being Jesus instead of cramming Him down people’s throats through my speeches. It’s about being intentional with everything I do. It’s about rethinking everything I know about Christianity and the Church.
This God-driven journey took a major turn this past weekend as I joined with a couple thousand leaders and revolutionaries at the Verge Conference here in Austin. Saturday afternoon I wrote the following to my family and close friends:
“I have just experienced the most amazing, real, breathtaking glimpse of the holy spirit at work I have ever even imagined possible. I honestly don’t know what to say. God is doing HUGE things in His Church and I pray that we can each be a part of the movement he is starting. Guys, this is real! This is true! This is worth fighting for, but it is going to be hard. “Praise to Him for the suffering He has blessed us with. Glory to His name for the things He is beginning. Honor to His name for stirring a heart for what this whole Christianity and church thing is SUPPOSED to look like in me and in others. I PRAY that we can take these things and make them real!!
You see, the Church has lost its focus. We are fighting for a God who wants nothing of what we claim He desires. We are standing for a Father who longs for us to be real, to be sacrificial, and to be love, His love, to the world around us, by doing anything but these things.
But amidst the screw-ups, the distortions of God and His mission we have created in the Church, a revolution is building. A group of leaders and future leaders is forming, who desire to return to the basics: to refocus on God, unleashing the power of the Holy Spirit, and showing Christ to the people in our lives who desperately want a cause, a Truth, to believe in. The hope is real and fresh and the future is bright, but it’s going to take us taking action.
So I say to you what I said to my family and friends Saturday: Be blown away by God and what He is doing in the Church and join me in praying we never recover. Lace up your boots and bring on the revolution!
(To see all of the photos from the Verge Conference from the other photographers and myself, check out this flickr page.)
by phillipglickman
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