CREATING A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION

CREATING A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION

I stood on the front porch watching the parade of cars entering the drive way. When the cars stopped my university students quickly got out of their automobiles. They unpacked their luggage, and headed to their assigned bedrooms.  My area director then congratulated me on getting so many students to come to our leadership training program.

But it all started three years before this event.  Inter-Varsity was disappointed in the ministry at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC). The Christian group on campus was large, but had little impact on the university. The student leaders were filled with pride. When my area director assigned me to UMBC my heart flooded with fear. “Please, God don’t send me to UMBC.”

Then I read Robert Coleman’s book THE MASTER PLAN OF EVANGELISM. In his book Coleman showed how Jesus trained the twelve disciples without neglecting the masses. Jesus spent even more time with his inner core of disciples—Peter, James, and John.

I decided to put Jesus’ principles to work. I started to look for men at UMBC to disciple. I looked for men who met the requirements of II Timothy 2:2. Men who were faithful, and able to pass on what they learned to other students.

After a year I could only find three men who met the qualifications. But three men were better than none. So I started to pour my life into the three men. I decide to teach them everything I knew from the scriptures.

We met once a week for Bible study. Through the Book of Acts I taught the men how to study the Bible. To be in the group you had to agree to spend at least one half hour each day preparing for the Bible study. After the Bible study we spent at least a half hour in prayer. Sometimes we spent the entire meeting in prayer.

There was another requirement. At the end of each meeting I required the students to think through how to apply the passage to our lives. This might involve a group project, or simply some type of personal application.

At the end of the school year it was time for these three men to start their own groups. But like a fading campfire my enthusiasm was quickly extinguished. One student became fearful of leadership, and another student allowed pride to get the best of him. So I ended up with just one group leader.

I am happy to report the student with pride confessed his sin. God enabled him to turn his life around. Now there were two groups. The next year we added more groups. Then we started to include the ladies. Finally, I was spending time training small group leaders.

As the ministry developed I had the privilege of preaching each week before an increasing number of students at the large group meetings. I trained a number of students each year in evangelism. We saw a number students come to Christ. Occasionally, I would do an evangelistic sermon on campus. The evangelistic sermon was always followed by a Q&A session for non-believers.

We even did a Bible distribution. Every student on campus receive a complete Bible. Surprisingly, the Bible distribution opened the doors for conversations with the Jewish students. One Jewish student said this to me. “I did not know Jesus had a mother named Mary.” He just read the New Testament for the first time in his life.

I knew we turned the corner when a student stood to his feet and interrupted our large group meeting. This student was critical of my ministry. I therefore did not expect what came out of his mouth. “I want to ask Dan and the student leaders to forgive me. I have been very critical. But now I see Dan has taken time to lay a firm foundation.”

As I look back on the past forty years of ministry I have had the privilege of serving Christ’s Church as a university minister, church planter, lead pastor, a corporate chaplain, and a pastor to pastors. I have also been used by God to revitalize more than one church.

With my background and experience this is what I am asking God to do in the American Church:

1.      That churches allow and encourage pastors to practice Acts 6:4. Pastors need to focus on the ministry of the Word and prayer. The type of discipleship I am talking about includes the ministry of God’s Word.

2.      That pastors be given the time needed to disciple two or three key individuals. We often focus on the fast track to numbers rather than focusing on discipleship. We therefore do not lay the foundation needed for a strong local church.

3.      That church leaders organize the ministries of the church around people’s gifts. Most churches force members to work in pre-existing programs rather discovering and using the members’ gifts. This frustrates the body of Christ.

4.      That each pastor be encouraged to join a small pastor support group. (Three to six pastors) A place where they are safe to share their deepest concerns, and rejoice together in the victories God has given them. Rather than competing with other pastors.

A revival is a sovereign act of God’s grace. You cannot make it happen. God decides when and where a revival will take place. But it only makes sense to use the same principles Jesus used to minister to others. When we use His principle we just might see a spiritual revolution.