It’s happening right now. The institutional church is fading. Even while many megachurches are on the rise, the church as an institution is fading.
The power and the presence are not reaching levels we desire. We’re not living up to 1st Century Church. Two thousand years of history to learn from, and we’re still on the cusp of the great transition. The medium is outdated and the world has come to recognize that “talking” about what’s wrong with society is old hat.
The Old
Talking about what God wants and talking about what we SHOULD be about is a losing proposition. Calling a sermon and a brief corporate worship “Church” is no longer acceptable. Planning new projects to get members more involved is dusty, ineffective, and antiquated.
The New
Now is the Time for taking. For small groups to come together, each one sharing the revelation God gives them. Each person interdependent upon the rest. Flowing and functioning as The Body.
Now is time for hearing the Word and speaking it with boldness to the people in your office, on your street, in your local Starbucks. Now is time to heal the sick you see limping by in the parking lot. Now is time to weep for the sins and the heartache of the lost and broken.
Now is not just the time for casting out demons, but for sacrificing comfort to disciple and mentor the newborns who would otherwise stray.
Now is the time for apprehending the Kingdom of Heaven and pulling it by force down to earth, nailing tent pegs to hold it in place. Permanently fixing the corners of the Kingdom to the dust of the Earth. So that Kingdom and Earth overlap and coexist. So that the two become one.
Potential, meet Actual. The time has come.