Now I am not against Revival and Reformation, in spite of the sarcastic vibe in the initial paragraph. You see, I do believe that there is something about the current global state of events that lends me to think that perhaps, just maybe, there is a closeness to The Event that we preach about, more so than say, 30 years ago. My problem is that it seems that the more we harp on the "R&R theme" this message becomes sort of an annoying drum beat, a droning monotone slogan and not a rhythmical musical melody that moves us.
I recently had a conversation with a good friend. He related to me that his ecclesiastical employer has purportedly voted to implement a written policy that bans, and makes it “unlawful” to attend movies and go to sporting events at sports arenas or stadiums. His reaction is one of innate rebellion to such policy. His frustration does not stem from a vicious addiction to movies, nor to him desiring to spend all his money attending every single game of his favorite sports team; but to the fact that all of a sudden, the employing organization decides to take the appeal of the GC a step further and begin to delineate what a “Revived and Reformed” SDA looks like, and remove the liberty that the Revival Source [GOD] has as the basis of His Kingdom. Hence he got me thinking, what does it look like?
Perhaps it is an "honest" attempt from the employing organization to “lend a hand” to the Revival efforts of the GC; or a sincere attempt to help SDAs understand that time and dime are too valuable to be squandering them at sporting events or at the theater (Hard to find a good movie now-a-days anyway). However this approach seems to ignore the root of the problem and just hack at the leafs. Because logic would indicate and action would state that it is acceptable to watch the same shunned sporting event at home on the 50+ inch LED; purchase the pirated movie on the streets or download the pirated version of the proscribed film from some dubious website, right? It sounds a lot like that indication made in the SDA book describing our beliefs (Adventists Believe) that we should “shun” Jazz, Rock or other related hybrid forms; thank goodness this indication does not include Country or Bluegrass (good SDA sounds). I’m sure that some might read this and begin to pull out the maroon books and dust them off, or better yet type the right words on the search engine of the EGW writings website and come up with all the quotes that she uses to condemn theater, frivolity, amusement, and football. And so we focus on the shrub rather than the forest, hence my thinking process against a policy aiding Reformation and Revival.
So what does it look like? All of a sudden it feels that the appeal made by the GC is an excuse for a lot of our 'good intended' brethren in low or in very high places to begin to carve out and paint their own ideal picture of what a reformed and revived SDA church member looks like. Revived and Reformed SDA’s look like this, they don’t eat that, don’t listen to this, don’t watch that, don’t say that, don’t read that, don’t go here, they don’t … see the picture? I kind of don’t want to be revived. Rather than taking the GC urge to Revival as a call to … well that, be REVIVED; instead of looking at the beauty of a closer walk with Christ and indwelling in His Word; it seems that brilliantly out of focus we begin to paint the picture of what “it” looks like, compare pictures, and then affirm that our own picture is the correct one imposing it on others instead of actually discovering what His picture really looks like because (gasp!), that would take time. We want to know what it looks like so that we can ‘arrive’ and once we arrive to "it" we can claim to be ready for Jesus' return...
Thus, we come up with convenient lists of “Revived signs”. The problem is that the lists stifle the process of growth that has to occur when we are confronted by the Word regarding things that might be inhibiting our own spiritual development. And so, since it stymies the process they really make spiritual bigoted midgets that cannot use their brains to think, and consequently can only rely on the pastor, union president or the GC to tell them if it is ok or not, for instance, to go to the gym to work out, since the music played at the gym for aerobics class is worldly (Jazz and Rock hybrid forms should be shunned) and we should not attend those places (No, I did not make that question up). Consequently there is more emphasis placed on shunning cinemas, stadiums and aerobics class than on banishing say, a pervasive “Vegas style”(house never loses) business method that ends up garnishing the local pastor’s paycheck when he fails to sell all the literature that the Church Publishing House prints “on faith” and requires him to sell to the saints (Did not make this up either). Why not reform that in a Policy? The problem with lists and enforcing those external manifestations of reform; is that ultimately they are nothing more than shallow distinctives that actually do revival a disservice, and they have to enter a process of constant update and amendment. Hence, watching a wholesome movie in the theater with the wife is bad; unfair treatment of the worker is OK.
The GC can spur us to talk about it, and its good, but only us, through our letting the Spirit do His work in us can bring it about. And that takes time. It’s not a click away, its not a policy away. It takes daily time, daily surrender, daily spiritual surgery that many times is painful, but effective. I have a pretty mediocre spiritual life; that is why the document’s words’ resounded with me, I liked what I read because I acknowledge that, like those dried up bones that the prophet saw, I am dried up, and only He knows that I can live… so I run the race, sometimes I crawl, I stumble, I fall, and rise again by His grace and I’m tired of lists, unfocused attitudes, platitude sermons, and slogans when it comes to Revival and Reform.
So what does it look like? What does the urgent appeal translate to in practical application in our daily life? I would say that I don’t know, but it sure does not translate into me blindly adapting and adopting some list that conscribes places and not attitudes that run deeper. It translates to exactly what the document appeals for, more time in His Word, more time in Prayer, more time in Spirit guided self-discovery (Search me God and know me, Psalm 139:23), thus the picture will be less like me and more like Him, a reformed, refashioned reflection of His image (as much as that sounds like a cliché).
So what does it look like? What does the urgent appeal translate to in practical application in our daily life? I would say that I don’t know, but it sure does not translate into me blindly adapting and adopting some list that conscribes places and not attitudes that run deeper. It translates to exactly what the document appeals for, more time in His Word, more time in Prayer, more time in Spirit guided self-discovery (Search me God and know me, Psalm 139:23), thus the picture will be less like me and more like Him, a reformed, refashioned reflection of His image (as much as that sounds like a cliché).
