The biggest problem in the contemporary charismatic Pentecostal church of America is certainly not “strange fire.” It is the lack of fire—Holy Spirit fire, divine fire, the fire of visitation, the fire of Pentecost.
Whenever I visit my friend Lewis Lee, a pastor in Baltimore, I end up on the streets. That’s because Lewis is never content to keep his congregation cooped up inside their church. Every month he takes them downtown to feed homeless people at a park near Johns Hopkins University. On hot summer days he takes teams to the worst neighborhoods of his city to pray for people, share the gospel and distribute bottles of water.
The Bible records Paul’s message to young Timothy to encourage and exhort the church with a final word in Ephesians 6:10-17. The first component is to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. We must understand the challenging times facing America at this current time and find comfort in being strong in the Lord. It is not enough to have strength in the Lord, but we must also stand our ground and be strong in the power of His might.
All of us have watched the trial of George Zimmerman with mixed emotions. As a local pastor near Sanford, Fla., this is personal to me since I’ve been involved behind the scenes. However, the principles I’m about to share with you apply not only to Christians in our area but to all, because the eyes of the nation have been riveted on this trial.
Yesterday we celebrated the founding of our nation, which started with our Declaration of Independence from England. Because of this, I thought it necessary to publish one of my seminars on this topic.
It doesn’t bother me anymore to hear a phone ringing during a church service. It’s part of life in the 21st century. But I’ll admit I was shocked last month when I heard a ringtone while I was preaching—and a woman seated in the third row pulled her phone out of her purse and began a lengthy conversation as if she were in the waiting room of a beauty parlor.
