Viral Faith

  “ The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs. And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.” Mark 5 : 14 - 17 NLT “Church is a community of people animated by the wild, unpredictable spirit of God unleashed to bless the world through love, healing, joy, repentance, and reconciliation.” — Sean Palmer In Unarmed Empire At the time of this writing, Asbury university is experiencing a unique movement of God where its students are experiencing the presence of God’s Spirit.   Social media is flooded with eyewitness testimonies of the experience of awe and wonder a...

"Is this all there is?  Is this what church is"   Chery Dulaney, member of New Hope's ministry team (www.newhopefree.org) This morning, I began to re-read the book of Acts.  For those unfamiliar with the Book of Acts, it is the chronicles of the development of the early church immediately after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Its an amazing read as we see a movement that literally began with about 120 adherents explode to thousands in several years. The movement of Jesus followers had an explosiveness or dynamism that endured persecution, crossed cultural barriers, and overcame civic opposition.  All of this without programs, nice church edifices, or a dominating clergy class. Among pastors, there is this aching and haunting reality in many of our churches: Our churches do not look or feel anything like the dynamic movement of Jesus followers in the book of Acts.  Yes, there are programs, and new buildings, and increased staff, but no revi...