Bjcorbin's Blog

In recent weeks, as I sat amongst brothers and sisters who minister in places that are openly hostile to the gospel message (e.g. Indonesia, Afghanistan, Somalia…), I listened intently to amazing testimonies of God’s faithfulness and power. And while it was wonderful to hear of the manifestation of the Lord’s glory, it was hard not to be struck by the dramatic contrast with what we see happening in western cultures. In the midst of praying about all this, I felt as though the Lord said that the church in America is a lot like the rich young ruler, described in the gospels (Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 18). Like him, she is endowed with material goods (e.g. buildings, sound systems, video equipment, church vans…) and some vague sense of authority, but she is poor in spirit; unwilling to trade the illusion of earthly prosperity for the abundant life of the Kingdom. Just as it was then, He is calling us to let go of our temporal trappings, and to genuinely follow Him.