I have a friend in Barbados who is a passionate believer in God. He has a message to share. I have posted it here. His supporting document can be viewed “click here“. YOU really need to read this. Your thoughts about church may change forever.
Be encouraged to comment…
Introduction
The Lord laid this message on my heart, and commanded me to release it
to the members of the Body of Christ in the Caribbean. I feel the
urge to release it at this time, and I pray that you will read it and
seek his face concerning it.
I have been prayerfully waiting for the Lord’s prompting, not only in
when to release this word, but to whom, as well. I pray that it will
cause you to seek your own heart first, so that he can speak to you
concerning any areas in your own heart that need realigning. I pray,
also, that these pages will cause us all to have a massive time of
seeking the Lord for the way forward, both individually and
corporately.
Who Am I?
I realize that some of you who this email may be targeted to may not
recognize the name nor the email. So, let me introduce myself. I,
Robert Gibson, have been a part of the IS/IVCF movement for many
years. First at The St. Michael School in Barbados, as a member of
the ISCF there, and then moving into Barbados Community College (BCC),
where I was exposed to the tertiary version of that movement – the
UCCF. I have been a member of the UCCF from 1995 (when I joined BCC)
until 2005 (when I graduated from UWI, Cave Hill.) In my long time as
a member of UCCF, I was first introduced to the presence and person of
the Holy Spirit, and then grew until I became somewhat of a father
figure to later members of the UCCF before the Lord asked me to
release my responsibility to them.
The Vision
If you are on this list, you may have passed through the ‘halls’ of
either the Barbados Community College or the University of the West
Indies and may also have been a member of or affiliated with the
Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF), while some who
read this may not have attended either institution or been affiliated
with the organization. This document speaks specifically to the
spiritual climate of the regional campuses and the religious bodies on
those campuses – not just the ones named in this email. However, God
also has a wider vision. He is speaking generally about the climate
of the Church and is agitating for a shift in focus. We, as the Body
of Christ, must stop being afraid of being polluted by the societal
culture and start seeking God for an impartation of HIS culture – the
culture of the Kingdom of God. God is calling for a ‘counter culture’
where the Body of Christ is willing – and able – to impact the society
with the culture of the Kingdom which we are aligned by being called
Christ followers.
The Response
After this email has been released, what is the response expected?
What are we to do? First, as I mention in the article, I have no
answers of my own. This article poses questions and leaves room for a
time of seeking the Lord. I am wanting to encourage discourse and a
corporate prayer as we ask the Lord, “What do we do?” There are
thousands of young people who annually are released into our tertiary
institutions, but how do we really reach them? There are hundreds who
find a major connection with God in the tertiary educational system –
how do they stay lit up with the passion of an empowered connection
with God?
As an example of why this article was written, a couple of years after
leaving BCC, I had a phone call from an old friend who asked me, “How
did you keep it?” He was referring to my passion for Christ and my
devotion for the things of the Kingdom. He had left the ‘nest’ – the
relative ‘safety’ of the UCCF and was now out in the ‘real world’ –
and finding it a major culture shock! I forget exactly what my
response was, but I do remember the immediate thought I had – “How
could you lose it?”
It is time that this region light up with the fire of the Almighty
God. It is time to seek the Lord.
I know there are more things for the Lord to say; if he releases me, I
will send more emails as he directs.As the Word says, “Come, let us
reason together.” As you read, you are encouraged to communicate with
me, or with everyone on this list by using the “Reply to All” feature
in your emails. Anyone who wants to respond can do so.
I encourage you to prayerfully consider who you will pass on this
document to, as well. This message must be heard by those who have
ears to hear – God wants us to change our focus – millions of lives in
the Caribbean depend on it!
Surf to: http://www.freshc.org for a Fresh Connection…
For more GodSpots – 37stories Enjoy!
God Spots 
Since all thoughts from God are great thoughts, it is a bit obvious to say, “Great thought, Robert”. Thank you for sharing.
I believe there is a new movement among God’s people. It is a movement that stares the traditional church in the face and asks the question, “What happened?” Somewhere in history the church at large changed from being a participatory engagement to a spectator sport. I believe God is calling the church back to it’s roots via home/micro churches where the assembly is organically grown in the fertile soil of God’s love. I believe there is still purpose in the large church setting, but possibly it is for the encouragement of the success of God’s work in the home church.
I don’t know all that is going through your head as it relates to your passion, but possibly it intersects my thoughts on the growth of local home churches connected via Fresh Connections? http://freshc.org
I will post this dialog on Fresh Connections…
At you and your church family’s convenience, it would be great if you could describe to me what church looks like to you and your family.
God bless,
Your friend in Christ,
archie
This email affirms the stirring in my spirit that began about 9 months ago or so…to not be content with the “church” of today that spoon feeds people the gospel so everyone can feel good about it all in the name of “Jesus meets people where they are at” … No commitments are being asked to be made, no service is being expected, just come as you are and get what you need and leave. These very thougths are the thoughts that made me miss my small church so much, because what was modeled for me as a child is not being modeled to my own children. It’s very difficult to teach Acts 2 church to kids when they are virtually non-existant–although MOST churches will tell you they are….
When programs trump prayer groups, and the “next service time” trumps ministering to people, superstardom trumps pastoring, and fun trumps fundamentals we have a foundation built on shifting sands… the future of the American church is bleak.
God never called us to have as many people as we can in a building. Yes thousands came to know Jesus the night of Pentecost, but I believe they spread and mulitplied, and they did not stay meeting together at some huge facility waiting to just grow more… They were one accord, doing life together…. And through THAT action the Lord added daily to those who were being saved…. Not thru catchy sermon series’, not thru amazing kids programs, not thru perfect worship…but through living life together, in simplicity of heart….literally in each other’s houses… That is church redefined.
Acts chapter 2
I will now get down off my soapbox…
Thank you TJ. Stay connected. God willing, Fresh Connections will be meeting while you visit during the holidays. Maybe you can drop by.
I tell the Yoga Queen, she was the first Fresh Connection. 🙂
Hoping and praying God’s will and purpose. There may be many Fresh Connections as the future unfolds. I never could think small.
Yeah TJ 😀 Names aren’t important – purpose is!
“When programs trump prayer groups, and the “next service time” trumps ministering to people, superstardom trumps pastoring, and fun trumps fundamentals we have a foundation built on shifting sands… the future of the American church is bleak. ”
Unfortunately, it’s not just American church… I’m all the way in the Caribbean and I see it here too… it’s more a hemispheric thing. Contrast that to the underground church in China… one of the LARGEST bodies of believers, if not THE largest. What’s missing? Persecution…. The persecution in Acts caused the message to spread… we in the west don’t know what real persecution is. YET.
I hope to visit sometime to see what God is doing over there, Arch! I wanna stop by too 😀
One more teaser. What will traditional churches do when singing out loud will be dangerous because the church is not registered? How will worship happen THEN?