It's Time for the Church to Roar Again
What would happen if Christians stopped being quiet? What if the church reclaimed its voice — not in anger, not in judgment, but in the raw, unashamed power of a holy God? I believe we've been silent for too long, and it's time for the church to start roaring again.
A Rocket Launch That Changed My Thinking
While on sabbatical, my wife Andrea and I had the incredible opportunity to watch a SpaceX launch from a boat on the water — five miles out, right up to the line. When that countdown completed and those rockets began to fire, there was a literal shaking and rumbling even in the boat. You could see the ripple effects in the water. They say you could feel the shaking 30 to 50 miles away, and the rumble was so great that car alarms started going off.
People around us were shouting, roaring, and clapping — and nobody apologized for that roar.
And I had this passing thought: Why is it that everybody can roar and shout about rockets, but when Christians come together and worship and somebody begins to roar toward a holy God — the King of the universe who provided salvation for us — why do we get upset?
We have believed a spiritual lie of the enemy. A tactic that says, "Shh, don't talk about those things. You might offend somebody." Well, I believe the church has lost its holy roar, and we've got to start roaring again.
The Power Is There All the Time — Not Just Occasionally
In two minutes of watching, we saw that rocket take off and enter space. In two minutes, those pilots went from 4.5g force crushing their bodies to floating in space. Their entire view had changed.
But in less than two seconds, when we experience the true power and anointing of the Holy One, everything in our life can change. He can do it in the blink of an eye.
Here's the problem: we love it when the power appears, but we have a tendency to return back to the things that are comfortable. God's not asking us to go back to the comfortable. That power is there for us all the time, not just every once in a while. I don't want to experience God once or twice a year — Easter was good, Christmas Eve service, woohoo. I want to experience him every day.
Smith Wigglesworth said it this way: "The power of God will take you out of your own plans and put you into the plan of God." I want to be in his plans. We need to be walking in the fullness and glory of his power every day — because every day brings a day of spiritual warfare.
The Enemy Isn't Hiding Anymore
True faith in Jesus Christ is under attack like never before in America. The enemy is no longer hiding behind the curtains. He's out there tempting, twisting the Word of God, and taunting believers.
Former Satanic priest turned pastor John Ramirez puts it plainly: "The Devil's plan is that if he can take over the territory, he can control the people. He's out to claim spiritual regions, regardless of status, rich or poor, black or white, famous or obscure. The enemy does not discriminate."
The enemy's ultimate purpose is to steal our identity, keep people from the cross, keep people from redemption and salvation in Jesus, and to steal the glory of God. If the church stays silent, that's exactly what's going to happen.
A Warning We Should Have Listened To
In 1965, radio personality Paul Harvey — think of him as the Joe Rogan of his era — wrote something that reads like a prophetic warning for the church today. He called it "If I Were the Devil," and it's worth reading in full:
"If I were the Prince of Darkness, I'd want to engulf the whole world in darkness... I'd subvert the churches first. I'd begin with a campaign of whispers. To the young, I would whisper that the Bible is a myth. I would confide that what's bad is good and what's good is square... I'd soon have families that war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves... I would encourage schools to refine young intellects but neglect to discipline emotions — just let those run wild... I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money... In other words, if I were the devil, I'd just keep right on doing what he's doing."
He signed off: Paul Harvey. Good day.
The warning was there. But because the church was quiet for so long, we are where we are.
Word and Spirit — We Need Both
Right now there's a tactic in the church that tries to divide believers into two camps: the Word church or the Spirit church. The legalistic, letter-of-the-law crowd on one side, and the "I-need-to-feel-the-goosebumps" crowd on the other. R.T. Kendall describes it well: "There has been a silent divorce in the church between the Word and the Spirit."
We are a church that believes in every word of this book — we are a Word church. We are also a Spirit-filled church. And we are going to bring those together, because there is wholeness in the Word of God and in the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit Wants to Use You
The more of God's power starts with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is not scary. He gives you boldness to stand when you should sit, the faith to believe when you should doubt, and the grace to forgive when you should begrudge.
R.A. Torrey said, "If you think of the Holy Spirit as a mere influence or power, your thought will constantly be, 'How can I get a hold of the Holy Spirit and use it?' But if you think of him in the Biblical way, as a person of divine majesty and glory, your thought will be, 'How can the Holy Spirit get a hold of me and use me?'"
And here's something that needs to be said: God won't give his power to a generation that doesn't have the character to carry it. He's asking us to build character. He doesn't fault us when we make mistakes, and he doesn't hold it against us what he's already forgiven. But he is asking us to change.
Psalm 139:13-14 reminds us of who we are: "You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous — how well I know it." He made you. He created you. He has a purpose for you. You are not an accident. You are not here by chance.
Putting It Into Practice
The church's roar begins with personal surrender. Here's where to start:
Submit to Jesus. Say it out loud if you need to: "I can't do this on my own anymore. I submit my hurt, my sins, my heart, my vision to you. Let me be at your feet."
Submit to the Holy Spirit. Relinquish your own power so you can walk in his. Ask him to change you, renew you, and redeem you. Invite him to burn the things of this world out of you.
Use your voice. The voice of the church has got to be heard — not as the angry church, not as the judgmental church, but as a church showing the fruit of the Holy Spirit. That includes how we speak, how we live, and yes, how we vote.
Stop waiting on the sidelines. A.W. Tozer said it well: "People think of the world not as a battleground, but as a playground." But this is not our home — it's a training ground for spending eternity with Christ. Spiritual warfare is like gravity: it exists whether you believe in it or not, and it affects you every moment of the day.
The church has been too silent for too long. Nothing in your life is too big for God — not your financial struggles, not your pain, not your health concerns. Nothing. The man who spoke and the earth came into existence — it's not too big for him.
It's time to roar.