| Isaiah 43;19 declares: "Behold, I will do a new | | | | read as follows: "The 1700-year nightmare is over. |
| thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know | | | | A megashift of spiritual power into the hands of |
| it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and | | | | ordinary people is about to overwhelm the world |
| rivers in the desert."A new thing? Try this one on | | | | and put it into vastly better shape. Prepare |
| for size: Just as the Apostle Paul brought the | | | | yourself to take part in a total makeover of |
| Good News to the Greeks, today's latch key kids | | | | Planet Earth!"It went on to say: "You are about to |
| will bring it to the GEEKS!Here's what I mean. | | | | discover a new world where...* Over a billion |
| Does anybody remember those radical Jesus | | | | non-Christians may become highly active |
| Freaks of the 60s and 70s? They're still around. | | | | Christians in the next dozen years.* A whole new |
| They became the pot-bellied Baby-Boomers we | | | | form of Christianity promises to bring a far |
| know and love today. These people seem to | | | | greater impact than the Protestant Reformation.* |
| have become more conservative with age | | | | Millions of ordinary people are doing miracles.* God |
| (having children of one's own will cause that | | | | has brought hundreds ofpeople back from the |
| transformation). After all, many who were once | | | | dead, mostly in the last 15 years. These are not |
| yesterday's liberals are today's conservatives. | | | | near-death experiences, but real resurrections of |
| They scorn the vulgar videos and movies of | | | | actual corpses. (NOTE: It's true. In the last decade, |
| today's youth and turn in disgust from the their | | | | 52 countries report dead being raised and |
| nasty grunge clothes, pierced noses, and tattoos. | | | | diseases miraculously cured.)"New book tells all: |
| These Boomers can't stand the in-yo-face | | | | "Megashift" not only documents a wide range of |
| vulgarity and arrogance of today's young | | | | miracles, but also spotlights hundreds of thousands |
| no-commitment "slackers."To you pastors out | | | | of house-church teams around the globe that are |
| there, I hate to break it to you, but these kids | | | | producing a new culture of responsible freedom. |
| are the new recruits. These young people ARE | | | | In these teams, people are allowed to speak and |
| the new Church. I call them the Omega | | | | interact. They often form deep friendships, dump |
| Warriors.Together, we Boomers must get over | | | | their heaviest problems, turn into free and |
| something that is much more than a generation | | | | powerful spearheads of worldwide change, and |
| gap. It's the most paradigm of paradigm shifts | | | | get connected with God and man in ways that |
| because there is a total misunderstanding of | | | | almost defy description. This is a "Megashift" |
| these newbies on the part of today's "organized | | | | away from spectator religion.Funniest thing, in the |
| Church." The Boomers must come to recognize | | | | early 90's, Rutz was sharing this vision and, when |
| the hidden sorrows faced by today's "latch-key" | | | | some men from my church attended a meeting |
| kids . . . the heart-rending despair of their broken | | | | of his, they laughed at his odd notions. Many did |
| homes and the poor parental skills under which | | | | the same.Now, we're buying his books.A |
| they were subjected as we've together | | | | GROWING OPPORTUNITY: 8% CHURCH |
| discovered that TV makes a terrible surrogate | | | | GROWTH PER YEAR!My home town boasts a |
| parent. This is the stuff of their lives that makes | | | | community growth rate of about 3% annually; |
| them "act that way."Christians, gone are the days | | | | the local college, about 7% per year. This is for |
| of the "one-talking-to-many" mediums, the talking | | | | perspective. One item mentioned in Megashift was |
| heads of today's Baby-Boomer Christianity. We | | | | this: "There is a hidden world that already has 707 |
| are entering a one-to-one digital medium. These | | | | million evangelical/charismatic Christians who are |
| kids want to interact. They desire | | | | growing by an incredible 8% a year. In the center |
| interdependency. They want to collaborate and | | | | of this shockwave are roughly 100 million in |
| dialogue with others. Common interests are | | | | informal networks of committed circles who run |
| drawing these kids into common communities. | | | | their own show without buildings, paid pastors, or |
| One quick glance at their Internet chat rooms | | | | sermons. "Megashift" is a startling introduction to |
| makes this extremely evident. They'll discuss | | | | that surge of grass roots power and love, which |
| anything. They WANT to commune.SOMETHING | | | | is forming the culture you will soon live in."It |
| OUT OF NOTHINGCan we discern the spiritual | | | | appears God is using the rank and file, willing |
| side of all the apparent nonsense they force us to | | | | Believers across the globe, more and more these |
| deal with? What can God do with so big a mess? | | | | days, and OUTSIDE the friendly confines of |
| Consider that the idea of connecting to one | | | | Churchianity at that! Rutz mentioned having met a |
| another in another space is inherently spiritual. The | | | | 7-year old boy in India who died at age 5. The |
| notion of a "covenant network" of allied individuals | | | | boy had scars from where he was burned by a |
| is certainly Christian. And, perhaps for the first | | | | power line. On the emergency room table for two |
| time in human history, the Body of Christ can be | | | | hours, doctors could not revive him. The hospital |
| perceived as being truly global, totally possible, and | | | | contacted a church which called a 60-year old |
| walking in more agreement than we ever | | | | Indian woman to pray for the boy. She was |
| imagined. How is this being made possible? By | | | | illiterate; an "untouchable"; the lowest of the low in |
| way of the Internet.Nobody's better at | | | | the Indian caste system. She prayed until 4 AM. |
| negotiating The 'Net than today's youth."It is | | | | The boy was alive with no brain damage or any |
| important to fulfill the great commission by getting | | | | other physical problems. When Rutz asked the |
| the saving Gospel message to the people who | | | | woman if she had ever done this before, she |
| need it most," claims Mark Harpt, President of the | | | | replied that she had been involved in sixteen |
| World Wide Christian Web. He continues, "The | | | | resurrections!"The Church, as we have it set up |
| amount of ignorance about the truth of God is | | | | now...is really not set up to handle it all so God is |
| staggering, especially in countries that produce the | | | | empowering people to work through small teams, |
| greatest technological advances. These people | | | | house churches particularly, school churches, |
| need God and wireless Internet technology is a | | | | business churches and so forth...small teams |
| great way to let them know that the God who | | | | where people are able to interact and work with |
| created the universe wants to enter into a special | | | | each other...kind of like the early New Testament |
| relationship with them if they will allow it."Sadly, | | | | idea of going house to house...," Rutz said.Are you |
| many of today's Church leaders - some of whom | | | | ready? Church leaders, is your Church |
| were yesterday's radical Jesus Freaks - have | | | | infrastructure in place, or are you expecting these |
| largely missed what is happening right under their | | | | young people to come to Church, learn the |
| noses because they see the lowly computer as | | | | prayers and hymns and when to say 'Amen" and |
| nothing more than a glorified office machine at | | | | listen while you teach them where to sit, how to |
| best, a tool of the devil at worst. True, the | | | | act...and expect them to do so for the next 70 |
| predictions regarding the information highway may | | | | years?Sorry, but as one who has spent many |
| seem like so much hype today, but the wise | | | | years with teens and collegians in ministry, these |
| Christian leader will prayerfully consider its impact | | | | young lions gotta roar!Me? I contend that, not only |
| in regard to tomorrow. Though computers may | | | | are these pierced 'n tattooed, navel-flashing, |
| hardly seem to be of any significance where the | | | | latch-key kids our latest raw recruits but that |
| future of the Church is concerned, the way the | | | | America's corporate offices are going to be the |
| Church utilizes this tool may totally change | | | | place of another huge move of God as well. Such |
| Christianity on planet Earth as we know it. I can | | | | things HAVE to be so because we spend so |
| attest that it has totally revolutionized my own | | | | much time there. Is the Church going to meet |
| personal ministry as I'd rather broadcast the | | | | them where they're at, or cling to its pews - |
| Word of God to millions with the click of a button | | | | those medieval torcher devices - with both hands, |
| than preach to a group of 12 or so. When I DO | | | | serving the Institution rather than the Institutor? |
| minister to live human beings, I ALWAYS return | | | | Just as Aquila and Priscilla were there, strategically |
| with a list of email addresses.The new millennium | | | | in place to greet the Apostle Paul after his |
| is a watershed moment in Church history. The | | | | Damascus Road conversion, will you be there for |
| Internet will soon impact the growth of the | | | | these kids when they need you to be? Again, I'm |
| Church at a staggering rate and at a global level. | | | | NOT talking about greeting them at the door of a |
| The question is, will YOU be part of it? Some | | | | church building - I may be talking about going to |
| may say, "We're miles ahead of the game at First | | | | their campus, joining forces with other |
| Church! We have our own website...." Wrong! | | | | denominations and pooling funds for a youth |
| Again, for anyone to find that website, THEY | | | | event (we organized one that included 26 |
| must be looking for YOU.The Church MUST make | | | | churches, 9 bands and over 1,000 kids) or starting |
| every effort to go to THEM!SPIRITUAL | | | | a Coffee Shop Bible study where they can relax |
| CONSUMERS OR SPIRITUAL PRODUCERS?Last | | | | and be themselves.Anything to show them that |
| Wednesday night, I was almost late for my | | | | you LOVE (spelled T-I-M-E) them.I met with 30 |
| Coffee Studio Bible study. Why? I saw a | | | | people around a campfire a few weeks ago here |
| commercial for NBC's Dateline with Stone Phillips in | | | | at my home in the woods. We cooked steaks |
| which a ministry team was performing an | | | | and chicken and sang with guitars. We prayed |
| exorcism in a condo in North Carolina. Yes, we | | | | about revival, too. People, we were BEING the |
| taped it for later but we watched it, too. When I | | | | Church and no less than 5 denominations were |
| finally joined the Coffee Studio group, some had | | | | represented there. This past weekend, we |
| been watching the same program there and had | | | | knocked on doors throughout the county and |
| caught the show as well. Early in the program, | | | | prayed for people at their doorsteps - Lutheran |
| Phillips made the statement, "As many as 10,000 | | | | alongside Baptist alongside Pentecostal alongside |
| exorcisms take place annually in the USA, most | | | | Church of the Nazarene. Eleven denominations in |
| by evangelical Christians." (I'm performing one this | | | | all, taking our town by storm for the third time |
| Saturday. We had one last month at a Bed & | | | | (we're going out again in mid-September)[as i |
| Breakfast, too, an Englishman. Man, I am REALLY | | | | re-read this dated article, we hare about to go |
| enjoying Christianity, you?)Regardless of one's | | | | out our fourth time and have already prayed at |
| stance on demons and exorcisms, on that same | | | | 30,000 doorsteps]. Though it may appear that |
| video cassette, a friend included a segment from | | | | Satan has strategically managed to make |
| the 700 Club, a Pat Robertson interview with | | | | workaholics out of us and has systematically |
| author James Rutz about his new book, | | | | drawn millions of mommies out of their homes in |
| "Megashift." When my wife and I watched it, I | | | | an effort to join the workforce, thereby creating |
| was spellbound. After listening to Rutz, I ran | | | | legions of latch-key kids, the TRUTH is that our |
| upstairs to read what I could about his book | | | | God WILL get His Church back (I'm not talking |
| on-line, my wife following close behind. I found this | | | | buildings, folks). God WILL have His way. Satan |
| quote, "If you read one 'Christian book' this year, | | | | ALWAYS shoots himself in the foot.Be a part of |
| make it 'Megashift' by Jim Rutz." -- Joseph Farah, | | | | this upcoming revival. It's not going to look like |
| founder of WorldNetDailyAnother book review | | | | anything any of us have ever seen. |