{"id":142,"date":"2016-12-22T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T06:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=142"},"modified":"2016-12-19T14:49:32","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T14:49:32","slug":"american-church-sleeping-giant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2016\/12\/american-church-sleeping-giant.html","title":{"rendered":"The American Church is a Sleeping Giant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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1 I know your deeds;\u00a0you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2\u00a0<\/span>Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/em>3\u00a0<\/span>Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.\u00a0But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief,\u00a0and you will not know at what time\u00a0I will come to you.<\/em> Revelation 3:1-3<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From the outside, the church at Sardis looked healthy and vibrant, full of life and luster. But Jesus knew differently. He knew that the church was living off the glowing embers of past successes, that life had slowly ebbed away from the church until there was nothing left. The reputation that fooled so many other churches couldn’t fool Jesus. So he called them out. Whereas the church at Sardis was taking their foot off the pedal, attempting to coast past the finish line without having to strain or struggle, Jesus commanded them to finish the deeds set before them by God.<\/p>\n

Speaking prophetically, I believe the same message could be given to the church in America. Our deeds are unfinished in the sight of God. We have beautiful buildings, own billions of dollars or property, we maintain massive institutional infrastructure and still wield political clout in our country, and yet our deeds are far from finished.<\/p>\n

We’re losing the next generation at an unprecedented rate. People raised in church are walking away from it in droves. There is a widening divide between churched people and unchurched people, with very few churches successfully bridging that gap. We look more like a monument than a movement. We’re losing the cities, as the gospel seems to be the realm of suburbs and small towns only. We protect our turf rather than celebrate and encourage new churches to start. We’re stuck in a cultural vortex that’s ready for revival if America ever turns back to the 1950s, but we’re unwilling to translate the timeless truths of Scripture into modern expressions of faith and practice. Addictions are destroying our families and yet we’re not leading the charge to deliver people into freedom.<\/p>\n

Church in America, wake up! Your deeds are unfinished in the sight of God.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 I know your deeds;\u00a0you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2\u00a0Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.\u00a03\u00a0Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.\u00a0But if you do not wake…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[82,83,15,85,84],"class_list":["post-142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-next-steps","tag-america","tag-american","tag-church","tag-giant","tag-sleeping"],"yoast_head":"\nThe American Church is a Sleeping Giant - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Church in America, wake up! 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