I recently read, in one of my devotional books, this quote from A. W. Tozer. A quote like this cases me to stop, and ponder.
One thought I had was this. The atmosphere in America is secular. Godless. To combat this many of us, self included, are praying for awakening in churches. The Awakening centers on the earth-shattering presence of God.
What is needed are encounters with God's manifest presence. Such encounters, experienced by people, overwhelm secularism. They change the cultural atmosphere.
This is Church as an Awakening Center.
Years ago, Tozer wrote:
"When viewed from the perspective of eternity, the most critical need of this hour may well be that the church should be brought back from her long Babylonian captivity and the name of God be glorified in her again as of old. The matter is for each of us a personal one. Any forward step in the church must begin with the individual.
What can we plain Christians do to bring back the departed glory? Is there some secret we must learn? Is there a formula for personal revival we can apply to the present situation, to our own situation? The answer to these questions is yes.
Yet the answer may easily disappoint some persons, for it is anything but profound. It is simply the old and ever-new counsel: acquaint thyself with God. To regain her lost power the church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God."
In Buechner, Frederick; Manning, Brennan; Nouwen, Henri; Peterson, Eugene H.; Smith, James K.; Tozer, A. W.; Willard, Dallas; Wright, N. T.. Faith That Matters (p. 357). HarperOne. Kindle Edition. Emphasis mine.
