The Cry in the Desert (Part 2)

Yesterday we began to look at the cry in many believers hearts at the moment.
Do you resonate with any of these? 

Here’s the next cry:

“Where Are The Fathers and Mothers?”
The cry of loneliness comes not only from pews, but also from Pastors. Many denominations are becoming so large (again, big is better, right?!) that many Pastors themselves feel deeply isolated and unknown. The Carey Nieuwhof statistic that the “level of true friends” for leaders has dropped from 34% to a mere 17% in recent years tells us we have a crisis of isolation in our Church leadership.
Why the loneliness? Church ministers often end up as caricatures to their church members, rather than the frail, needy humans they really are. We forget that Pastors and Priests can also be insecure, bruised, plagued by doubt, weary, alone, sinful, lost, unappreciated, shaken. They have marriage problems, money problems, sin problems, mid-life crises, dark nights of the soul, and imposter syndrome too. And yet, instead of being allowed to hide and heal, they have to step up and minister to others, even during their own bankruptcy of soul.
Sadly, in some of our denominational leadership processes and systems, it’s easy to become another face in the crowd; another ministry face on a long conveyor belt of ministries. A mere name and number on a list. And it hurts.

“A Changing of the Guard”
Then there is an altogether different cry in the earth today regarding spiritual authority in the Church. We are mourning as the pioneers of the last era finish their race right in front of our eyes.
We are in a “Moses my servant is dead” pivot point in history. You can palpably feel the Church transferring authority from one generation of fatherly apostles to another, as spiritual heroes head home to the arms of Jesus. Moses is leaving us. Joshua is arising. And it’s unsettling to our humanity.
We’ve lost the likes of Billy Graham, Colin Urquhart, Charles Stanley, Timothy Keller, Jack Hayford, George Verwer, Brother Andrew, Younghi Cho, JI Packer, David Pawson, Reinhard Bonnke, and many, many more heroes of my youth. These shifts are necessary and normal. But the grief and insecurity are very real as older, trusted, proven, stable voices leave us. And our grief calls out to heaven like incense.

“Dismay! Betrayal! Trauma!”
Then yet another cry explodes in the bowels of the Church, because of the actions of another kind of senior leadership figure. These ones have left us with a more complex legacy to ponder and make sense of.
Church heroes and ministry figures, along with famed and much-loved teachers, are being found in long-term sexual sin, perversion, adultery, double lives, strange liaisons, abuses of children, authority, and church members, sometimes with mind-boggling greed. Some have been self-medicating with drug abuse, making excuses for marital infidelity, and operating with blatant narcissism. Some well-loved mega-models of church are crumbling, being exposed, and shamed before our eyes.
Now that doesn’t mean everything in these models is wrong, or that everything these leaders have ever said or done was not of God, but some models of church place the leaders at their helms, more open to the crushing pressures of success, demand, fame, ego, and empire. The end result has been deeply traumatic to watch.
Today, millions of believers feel sucker-punched, shocked, stunned, betrayed, disillusioned, disheartened, and dismayed by the wicked things that were hidden, being revealed.

Tomorrow, we’ll start turning the Cry into a Plan! God is up to something!

God My Healer and Ever-Present Friend. I declare that even in my loneliness and pain, God is with me. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

I am never abandoned, for Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). His Spirit is my Comforter, my Helper, and my constant companion (John 14:16–17).

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Battlefields & Valleys

We all encounter life’s battles, but how we navigate them makes all the difference. This book equips you with powerful scriptures and declarations to help you stand strong in spiritual warfare and walk through life’s darkest valleys with faith and victory.

Part of the Believe & Confess Series

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