The Next Wave of Missions

Today's post is by a guest, and friend, Pastor Phil Stringer of Ravenswood Bible Baptist Church in Chicago.  It was released on Friday, Nov. 16th 2012.  It has to do with the recent election, but more importantly, with the responsibility of the Church, prior to and in response to it.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?                                                                      The election of 2012!   On the evening of Nov 5, most of my friends went to sleep expecting a great wrong to be righted the next day. So did I.  We expected the American people to reject the economic blight of socialism, government by executive degree, abortion on demand at taxpayer expense, welfare systems that promote immorality, and gay marriage (among other problems).   By 8pm we were in shock as a slight majority of the American people (including 39% of evangelicals ) endorsed all those things.   Over the last few days we have been asking what happened.    There are some clear and important lessons to be learned. Yes, there are some things about  election strategy for the Republicans to learn.  You must focus on voter turnout and you cannot wait until October to fight back when you are attacked ( Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney all bragged about this strategy).  But there is a much bigger more obvious issue that has to be faced.   Urban America voted overwhelmingly for socialism and the new paganism, that is why Barack Obama, ( the ultimate spokesperson for the new paganism ) was re- elected president. However, suburban America voted for the conservative claims of the Republican party and rural America and small towns voted for traditional America in large numbers. There are a few scattered exceptions to this pattern but the pattern is more than 90% true. This is why the Republicans held onto the House of Representatives ( which represents the country on a geographical basis).   The country is overwhelmingly divided on a basis of the urban areas versus the rest of the country.  How did we ever get so divided?    In the 1960s and 1970s fundamental churches flooded out of our inner cities in America.  Bible churches, Bible Presbyterisns, Grace Brethren, Southern Baptists, and especially independent Baptists abandoned the inner cities for the easier experiences of the suburbs.  The city was too expensive , (especially property) and in the city you had to face racial issues that everyone wanted to avoid.  You couldn't build shiny new buildings and follow some of the church growth methods that you were expected to follow.  New converts often came with amazing amounts of baggage.  The urban areas were largely abandoned ( there were a few exceptions - Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, Dallas etc ) but the largest population centers were abandoned to paganism and liberalism. The new paganism got so bad that it made a Mormon and a Catholic look good to us.   There of course were a few bus ministries and chapels in the cities. Thank God for everyone who got saved in those ministries, I was saved as the result of an inner city bus ministry. However these ministries never influenced communities. It takes LOCAL churches and Christian schools to do that.  Since 1980, conservatives have tried to restore traditional America while ignoring the major population centers.  Evangelists have talked about revival while ignoring a majority of the people who live in the United States.  We are all now living with the results of moving most of our churches to the suburbs.                                                  THE NEXT GREAT WAVE of MISSIONS   There have been several waves of mission activity since the Great Awakening almost 300 years ago.  The most recent has been supporting national pastors and ministries. The next one had better be a wave of church and school planting in urban America.  This will take preachers with patience, realistic expectations and it will take a lot of outside support ( just as any mission field does in the early years). Our problems will not be solved politically. America was not founded on politics but on revival -  The Great Awakening.  It will not be restored by politics - if it is ever restored it will be restored by revival, evangelism, church planting and establishing Christian schools in our inner cities.   I can hear the critics saying that it is too late for our inner cities. They may be right but it is not too late for the individuals that we will reach in the process. Maybe, just maybe, the next great wave of missions could be as historic as some of the other waves have been. I am certain of one thing, if we do not return churches and schools to the inner city there is no hope for America.   Or course, if we continue to spend all our resources, energy and passion trying to destroy one another you can forecast the outcome easily. While we are fighting over the definitions of words, church politics and personal agendas our historic Christian culture is collapsing all around us. So far, we deserve no better.   We need our mission boards and Bible colleges to tackle this crisis, if they won't we may need a new mission board specifically for this time and challenge and new Bible colleges. We need pastors and churches with priorities and a burden.   One last wave of missions, attacking  the strongholds of the devil.  IS THERE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO. "Occupy until I come.   Pastor Phil Stringer, Ravenswood Baptist Church