For most of the Earth’s recorded history, 95% of the world’s population were agricultural. Today, less than 5% of America’s labor force is employed in agriculture.
We’re seeing the same shift with blue collar work today. Manufacturing, transportation, and many trades have already been replaced by automation. What was impossible 30 years ago is now commonplace!
Many of the jobs that today you believe are impossible to replace will be automated in the next 30 years.
And our emphasis on media and information will only increase. This is the next frontier, and we are already knee-deep in it. This is a new industrial revolution.
As we changed from an agrarian society to an industrial society in the 18th and 19th centuries, a time period known as the first and second industrial revolution, culture changed with it. The church changed with it, too.
Is it a coincidence that America’s greatest revivals also happened in the 18th and 19th centuries?
Our Christian theology largely stayed the same, but our form adapted through these periods of revival, including birthing the evangelical movement, which has shaped “church” as we know it today.
The third industrial revolution, as some call it, happened in the 1960s with the advent and implementation of computer technology. Culture changed again. The charismatic movement was birthed across the country. Also a coincidence?
There is always a relationship between culture, the church, and revival. In times of chaos, the God of order shines through.
As we see another massive shift in society looming, we are poised to also see a new revival. Will we capture it or will we shrink back in fear?
Revival will come, with or without us. The question is whether we will posture ourselves to partner with or to oppose the work of God.
Revival does not come from sticking to our guns and doing the same old thing for long enough. Revival hurts for the entrenched, always.
When revival comes, the church will look different on the other side of it. It always does. The old institutions and methods will lose value, new forms will emerge.
The charismatic movement, for example, has changed churches everywhere, whether they embrace the power of the Holy Spirit or not. Our churches look and behave differently, less formally, than they did prior to this movement. Show up in jeans to church tomorrow, at most churches in America, and you’ll likely fit right in.
The question is a personal one. Are you ready for a new wave of God’s anointing, a fresh fall of the Holy Spirit? Are you ready for something new? Are you willing to let go and let it look like whatever God has in mind?
Pray with us. God, show us a new thing. Open our hearts to what you have in mind.
Bring a new revival, we won’t stand in the way. Show us how we can play, Lord. Your way, not ours. YOUR kingdom come, Lord, not ours. We’re so excited!
Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Father God. Our hearts are yours.
AMEN.
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