Let’s chat about how to regain the Jesus of the Bible that the crowds couldn’t get enough of. Where people flocked to him for what he had to offer. What has happened today that people don’t flock to Jesus? He told us that he gave us the AUTHORITY and the POWER [Matthew 28/Acts 1]. Is Jesus impotent today?

I don’t mean in that way. Impotent is a 14th century word defined as: lacking in strength, power and vigor.

In the seeker-infused world of the American church, we have lost His authority and power that he gave to us. I love being sensitive to those seeking [and we have found a great balance here], but didn’t the seekers of the 1st century and previous centuries flock to Yahweh and then Yahweh in the flesh because they were truly GOD?

We have lost the power, the wonder, the mystery, the incarnation in many of our gatherings where we present Jesus.

I am not saying to not program services. Shoot, I would put the teams I have served with up against any in the country on that front. It’s the fact that we have begun limiting him to a formula, a set schedule, and to a clock.

I watch churches [from seeker-targeted to charismatic] run right past the mystery, the awe, the beauty, the reverence, the power of allowing God incarnate to work through us and the power he has given to us to accomplish the great commission.

I grow weary of being told when I preach out that it needs to be 30 minutes and not the 40 that God might have planned. And when/if it goes overtime, we skip the power. OK…sorry, we kept you for 75 minutes, let’s just all go home since we are short on time. No invitation, no prayer ministry, no chance to respond. Just the formula [and again, I believe there must be balance and not excess either way!]. This is just one example.

Dang…the day that we stop scheduling “revival services” and start scheduling the “power of God” to show up, and we expect Him to show up…crowds will follow. And crowds are great. If you don’t like crowds, it’s because you have either not read the New Testament, or you don’t believe that the world needs to come to him, or you have never seen his power poured out on a crowd.

Crowds are a main group that Jesus hung with, and so should we, and we should NEVER be afraid to say that we want 1 million people in our church. Are you going to bash that? I want people to stay out of HELL!

My deepest desire is to see the WORLD come to Jesus. And if that is in 27 billion house churches or an assortment of mega-churches, or 100 million churches of 100, I don’t care! I just want to fulfill the great commission in HIS power!

So, where has the power gone? Revival will come to your church when you allow the power and authority that are yours to rise us and spread like the fire that fell in Acts 2. [How much do we really listen? How much of a connection do we really have with the Spirit?]

People ask me…what did you do to see such power in a small community? Simple: We asked God what to do and we did it. NO EXCUSES! But my heart still hurt because in our community in Ohio 40K people were un-churched!

Power/mystery/awe/miracles/healings/ministry come when we submit to the Spirit and not the formula. And no, I don’t come from a charismatic background. I am just young and dumb enough to believe what I read in the Bible and ask God to do that through all of us. I believe!

This generation is crying out for something real, not programmed. Stop being afraid of the power that God gave to us through his Son and operating through his Spirit.Bring back HIS power without going to the excess, which is just as deadly.

So…hit me. What do you think?