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 In 1860, 374 church ministers from across South Africa gathered at Andrew Murray’s church in Worcester to hold a conference. Sixty young people gathered In a nearby hall for a prayer meeting. After a 15-year-old black girl p-prayed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the group so powerfully that they began to cry out to God in repentance. Andrew Murray tried to stop the meeting.
It was disorderly and he could not imagine the Holy Spirit initiating something so out of control! Eventually he realized this was similar to what was occurring in the Prayer Revival in America and he embraced the revival. While clergy tend to expect that God will always work through proper ecclesiastical channels and programs, this is not always the case.
Two thousand years ago, God’s people desperately needed revival. Materialism and hedonism consumed many of God’s people. Religion had deteriorated into stale, legalistic rituals. Conversely, Jerusalem boasted the most impressive temple in the world. There, learned scholars studied the Scriptures. The Pharisees proudly clung to the ancient ways. Yet when Jesus launched the great Christian movement that would sweep across the known world, He did not do it by working through the established religious structure.
When Jesus came to earth, He focused on the backwater region of Galilee. He approached four fishermen, Peter, James, John and Andrew as they were mending their nets (Mark 1:16-20). Jesus also noted Matthew collecting taxes and invited him to leave that profession and follow Him (Mark 2:13-17). The region of Galilee was inhabited by common people: farmers, shepherds and fishermen. It was here that Jesus called ordinary businesspeople to be His disciples. With that small cohort, He would turn the world upside down.
Why did Jesus choose business people as His disciples? They were ordinary. They spoke the vernacular and they understood the common issues of their day. Business people are interconnected. Broken relationships are bad for business! These people were not intimidated by the culture of their day. They understood their society and thrived in it. Significantly, Jesus did not call them out of the world but sent them into the world that they knew well (John 17:5).
I have the privilege of working with Christian business people. What I see God doing in their lives suggests that if God initiates another world-wide revival He may choose to do it through the marketplace. Here are some reasons why:
1) Christian business people have international networks. Often, clergy find their lives largely confined to their own congregation or denomination. Business people, on the other hand, maintain extensive networks across denominational, racial and social lines. A world-wide revival will sweep from church to church, city to city and nation to nation. While many church leaders are unprepared for this to happen, the business community is already connected globally.
2) Christian business people are entrepreneurial and pragmatic leaders. Unfortunately, many pastors are not the best leaders. They have a shepherd’s heart and love God’s word, but they are not always strong leaders. Congregations are often held back by people in ministerial positions who struggle to lead. Conversely, God has gifted many Christian business people with enormous creativity and problem solving ability. When these people are mobilized to pursue God’s kingdom, they exert exponential spiritual impact on their world.
3) Business people often have access to political leaders, celebrities and business leaders whereas most church leaders do not. While not every country is open to receiving missionaries, most nations are open to business. Christian business leaders are using this God-given leverage to provide a Christian witness and to exert spiritual influence in places where missionaries would be banned or arrested.
4) Christian business people are comfortable with technology. To succeed in business today, they must know how to communicate globally. Never in human history has the world been as interconnected as it is today. Modern technology allows a decision in New York City to immediately impact people in Tokyo. Likewise, just as God used the Roman peace and its network of roads as well as the universal Greek language to spread Christianity throughout the First Century world, so modern communication tools and global connections hold the potential to impact the world today. Should revival begin in the marketplace, the channels of communication used daily to conduct business could rapidly fan the flames of revival to every nation on earth.
For too long, church leaders have asked businesspeople to join them in their efforts to make church programs successful. In reality, Scripture exhorts church leaders to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). A vast amount of the wealth, energy, creativity, leadership skills and problem solving ability possessed by Christians today is being used each week in the marketplace. Should these skills and resources be focused on the renewal and expansion of God’s kingdom, a world-wide revival would ensue. As we meet in May 2009 to remember the awakening that began in Worcester 150 years ago, let us pray that God will once again mobilize His people to impact the world for Christ. |
