We are looking at those who are no longer satisfied with the status quo when it comes to the Church, the culture, and their society. We have, along with others, called them revolutionaries. They are wanting to change the way we “do church” and, along the way, change the world as they spread the Kingdom and the Gospel of the Kingdom. These people – mostly young – have a number of characteristics…

1> Intimate worship.

In the early church every believer was expected to worship God every day, both in private and in the company of other believers as they gathered together for common meals. This did not require a “worship service”; it only necessitated a commitment to feel the awe of God’s magnificence, to express gratitude for His love and authority, to acknowledge His control and power, to follow Him with dedication, and to enjoy the miracle of His relationship with us.

2> Faith-based conversations

We are called to share His love with those who have not yet understood it or embrace it. It is natural to talk about and promote the things that excite us. Nothing should excite us more than the realization that God Himself loves us, wants an intimate relationship with us, and allows us to invite others into that sacred and priceless relationship with Him (see: 1 John 1:1-4). The evangelistic efforts of the first believers were carried out through preaching, low-key/high-impact conversations about truth and purpose, prayer, performing miracles to foster the opportunity to discuss the Source of their power and the joy-filled perspective they had toward God and life that created interest in their lives.

3> Intentional Spiritual Growth

The Church in Jerusalem endeavoured to learn more about the Christian faith and employ the principles of Jesus’ teachings. Believers exhibited a remarkable attitude toward life and people and acknowledged the presence of the supernatural in their everyday adventures. They placed their faith at the center of their lives and derived their sense of meaning, purpose, and direction from their connection to God and His commands.

4> Servanthood

Love is more than a feeling; it is a tangible reality when it is shared with other people through acts of selfless service. The early Church fostered the notion that serving the people was the best means of demonstrating the example that Jesus had set for them. Servanthood also showed the transformation that their faith had wrought within them. Like Christ, they lived to serve rather than to be served.

5> Resource Investment

Because we own nothing in this life, it is best to wisely invest the resources we manage for the One who is the true owner of all things. The first Christians defined communal living through their sacrificial sharing of everything they had. Note that the Scriptures specifically tell us that they shared “everything” with those in need, and that they used the variety of resources at their disposal – money, food, clothing, housing, relationships, influence, skills, time – for the benefit of all believers. 

6> Spiritual Friendships

The Church was all about relationships. These friends of Jesus became friends with each other and revelled in their mutual admiration of Christ in their frequent get-togethers. The friendships they formed provided not only encouragement but also loving accountability for spiritual integrity.

7> Family Faith

Christian families taught the ways of God in their homes every day. Parents were expected to model a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led lifestyle for their children, and families were to make their home a sanctuary for God. In a very real sense, the home was the early church – supplemented by larger gatherings in the Temple and elsewhere, but never replaced by what took place in the homes of the believers.

These are the features that revolutionaries today are seeking for in any church that they might choose to attend.

Those who are revolutionary in their faith – those in our world whose faith is transforming the way they live and express their faith – will often be judged and dismissed by those who are not on the same journey to discovery. Often their beliefs and life-style will be judged and rejected as not in full compliance with Scripture. 

However, every person who embraces the name Christian and seeks to live in ways that honour Jesus Christ must be careful with their judgments and criticisms. We must evaluate everything in light of what the Bible teaches and not what we think it says and reveals, what we are comfortable and feel secure in. Often, in our judgments we end up with more opinion than Scripture. 

God said to Peter, “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean” (Acts 11:9). So, we must be careful not to judge and reject the journey that others are on – especially the revolutionaries – just because it does not fit our understanding or the place we are at on our own personal journey with Jesus.

We must be very careful how we critique another person’s journey. If someone’s path conforms to correct biblical guidelines – even though it may stray from church traditions, cultural expectations, or our personal comfort zone – then we must accept the possibility that God may be working through him or her in a manner that is different from how He is working through us, or perhaps different from the ways we have previously seen or experienced His leading. We are called to be wise and discerning, but not judgmental.

In other words, we are not called to judge the spiritual path of other believers who are dedicated to pleasing God and blessing people when the root of our concern is their style or approach, even though they are true to biblical principles and commands. We are to be discerning in our observation of how fellow believers connect with God and respond to His exhortations, and sensitive to the latitude He has allowed us within the boundaries of Scripture.

Since the Bible is the source of motivation and wisdom in our efforts to be more Christlike, let’s examine the key biblical passages regarding the nature of the Church – that is, the aggregation of followers of Jesus Christ whom He has saved. The most pertinent passages are in the book of Acts, which describes the life of the early Church, immediately after Jesus returned to Heaven and allowed the leaders He had trained to develop the Church.

Acts 2:42-47 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Acts 4:24, 31-35 “And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them…And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”

Acts 5:17-18, 27-29, 40-42 “But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison … And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men … and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.”

These passages tell us what the revolutionaries today are working to reclaim and become directly involved in. This is what revolution is all about: making it possible to live in such a way, in connection with other like-minded people, that the description we just read is not merely an artifact of Christian history, but a depiction of our Christian experience today.

What made the early Church, which I believe God designed to be our model, compelling and life changing? Let’s identify some of the attributes that made the first Church so attractive and effective. If you study the passages above and categorize their content, you will find the Church was characterized by seven are passions,

1> Intimate worship

2> Faith-based conversations

3> Intentional spiritual growth

4> Servanthood

5> Resource investment

6> Spiritual friendships

7> Family faith

We will look at these starting next time, 

We were talking about a revolution… a quiet revolution that is shaking the Church. You won’t read about it in the print media or hear about it on cable news. Few are talking about it publicly. Apostles are talking about it on a regular basis but, in spite of that, Christian churches are only vaguely aware that something seems different. They have little idea what the shaking is all about or that there is even a shaking happening. 

The Church has entered the revolutionary age. We have had the information revolution, the technological revolution, the sexual revolution, the globalization revolution, the Nintendo revolution, the green revolution, the entrepreneurial revolution, the conservative revolution, and on the list could go. It is amazing that most people, including believers, are totally unaware of the most important revolution of them all: the spiritual revolution that is reshaping Christianity, personal faith, corporate religious experience, and the moral contours of nations. 

A revolution is defined as: “an overthrow or repudiation and thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.” A dictionary definition goes on to to say that a revolution may be “a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure.”

Webster’s Dictionary is aptly describing the transformation occurring in the lives of many people, churches, and even nations in the spiritual realm today. Millions of devout followers of Jesus Christ are repudiating tepid systems and practices of the Christian faith and introducing a wholesale shift in how faith is understood, integrated, and influencing the world today. Because human beings become what they believe, and practicing what they believe is the swiftest and surest means of generating lasting change, this revolution of faith practices is the most significant transition we will experience during our lifetime. 

One of the hallmarks of this period in history is the unprecedented busyness of people’s lives. More responsibilities and distractions bombard the typical believer’s life than we could have imagined possible just a century ago. It is in the midst of this cultural context – a society defined by seemingly infinite opportunities and options and supported by a worldview best summarized by a single word: ‘whatever’ – that this countercultural, faith-based response and revolution has emerged. 

In reality, our culture’s inability to provide fulfillment has caused millions of individuals – who are serious about understanding their existence and living right – to live in a manner that never fails to raise eyebrows in a society that is notably shockproof and dispassionate. These people have chosen to live in concert with core biblical principles. That strategic choice makes them stand out as extremists in a culture that keeps pushing the boundaries of extremism. These are the Christian revolutionaries.

What makes revolutionaries so startling is that they are confidently returning to a first-century lifestyle based on faith, goodness, love, generosity, kindness, simplicity, and other values deemed “quaint” by today’s frenetic and morally untethered standards. This is not the defeatist retreat of an underachieving, low-capacity mass of people. It is an intelligent and intentional embrace of a way of life that is the only viable antidote to the untenable moral standards, dysfunctional relationships, material excess, abusive power, and unfortunate misapplication of talent and knowledge that pass for life in most countries, societies and church structures today. 

Many who are making revolutionary changes in what they believe and how they live out their beliefs have tested the alternatives and found them to be woefully inadequate. Now, they have gratefully and humbly accepted the opportunity to do what is right, simply because it is right, even if it is not original or culturally hip.

The unfortunate truth is that most believers and non-believers alike are mired in an agonizing revolving door of trial-and-error efforts in a disheartening and unfulfilling search for truth, integrity, meaning, wholeness, connection, passion, and inner peace. Being in the presence of people – the revolutionaries – who seem to have discovered the keys to achieving such lofty and desirable outcomes cannot help but cause earnest seekers to take notice – and to wonder how it is even remotely possible for ‘revolutionaries’ to succeed in this sophisticated age with such simple values and practices. 

The Church is being shaken and those who are hungry for truth and want to be involved in what God s doing today in the Church that He is building are joining the ranks of the revolutionaries. Some remain within the traditional structures of the Church and others do not. 

Our culture – every culture – is in a period of rapid transition. Because of changes at a very basic level we are seeing the need for the Church to also change at a basic level. And the good news is that there is an explosion of spiritual energy and activity right now that many are calling a revolution. This revolution is na unprecedented reengineering of society’s faith dimension that is likely to be the most significant transition in the religious landscape that you will ever experience. 

Those who are sensing the revolution feel like they are the odd person out. Most of them struggle with conflicting feelings about their status in a church that does not yet understand them. The church that often fails to comprehend what they are going through and what they are feeling at their current place in their journey with Jesus. They feel more alive to Jesus and the Kingdom but less interested in the local church they are attending. They are sensing life in their journey with Jesus but don’t see that same life or dynamic in the local church they are attending week-by-week. 

Those who are struggling with their place in the Kingdom and in the Church – and this is what it feels like – a real, deep struggle – are part of a spiritual awakening that is happening in every area of the world and every type of church family. And this spiritual awakening and resulting passion for Jesus leaves people no longer satisfied with what they are seeing and experiencing in their local churches. 

They are looking for more – more of Jesus, more experiences, more radical encounters of the spiritual and supernatural kind. Often those who are hungry are discouraged in their journey by circumstances and the expectations of others, especially other believers. They are looking for “permission” to move forward to reach the next level, the new place in their journey towards spiritual maturity. And, ‘permission’ is not being granted. They are not being encouraged.

People, Christians, are getting restless because they sense something is shifting in the Kingdom and thus in the Church. They are seeking, searching, looking for more. What they have, although decent and good, is simply no longer enough nor is it satisfying the hunger within them. 

As a result, many born again Christians have eliminated church life from their busy schedules. Or, they have already begun to take the initial steps of disengagement. Driven out of their local church by boredom and the inability to serve in ways that make use of their considerable skills and knowledge, each one of them have spent time exploring other churches. Some settle on a local church that appears to be more alive, more inclusive, and that will release their gifts and callings. Others have simply given up looking for a new church home and have settled for different alternatives. 

Of course, there will be many others who do not sense the shift that is taking place nor do they want to change as they are comfortable just as they are.

Whether you want to or not, you will have to take a stand in regard to the revolution. It is on track to become the most significant recalibration of the Christian Church in more than a century. You response to it ought not be based on whether you are comfortable with it, but rather on its consistency with biblical principles and its capacity to advance the Kingdom of God. 

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then you must understand this revolution of faith because it is already impacting your life, and it will continue to do so in the years to come. This revolution is designed to advance the Church and to redefine the church. [Note: Church – worldwide assembly of believers; church – local assembly of believers].

A revolutionary Christian – still in a church or seeking alternative expressions of their faith outside the local church will have some common characteristics such as …

Their life reflects the very ideals and principles that characterized the life and purpose of Jesus Christ and that advance the Kingdom of God.

They are no longer willing to play religious games and are not interested in being part of a religious community (church) that is not intentionally and aggressively advancing the Kingdom of God.

They want more – much more – of God in their lives and will do whatever it takes to get what they want.

They cannot always explain what they are feeling (emotional) and sensing (spiritual) but to them  these impulses are real and unsettling, motivating them to seek, search, and risk.

The key to understanding revolutionaries is not what church they attend, or even if they attend. Instead, it is their complete dedication to being thoroughly Christian by viewing every moment of life through a spiritual lens and making every decision in light of biblical principles. These are individuals who are determined to glorify God every day through every thought, word, and deed in their lives. 

We are seeing a Christian Revolution emerging in many nations and it is releasing a spiritual revolution that will soon change the face of the Christian Church – the Church that Jesus is building.