Church as a Circus 2002

I was standing on what I knew to be my watchpost, looking out  over looking a forest and rolling hills (where I live), as I was watching I saw a pink (pink: represents flesh, soulishness or watered down Gospel) meteor coming in from the left, skimming the tops of trees and was about to come crashing onto the area I was watching over. I started shouting down into the trees but perceived no one could hear me so I made haste down under the canopy  the trees had created to sound the alarm.

Once under the canopy or “Big Tent” I had to adjust my eyes from the brightness of the sun at my watchpost,I was shouting a warning, but no one even realized I was there. I stood looking around at the state of things and was overwhelmed by the noise and….busy, busy activity. It was like a five ring circus.

There were announcers yelling out and getting folks attention. There were choirs and speakers, performers and singers. I was watching a congregation as they were making proclamations about themselves and what they did and how fervently they believed: and as a group of spectators came up this congregation rejoiced and spoke of how revival had come, based on the spectators attention on them, and sang louder, cheered, boldly proclaimed. When this group of spectators was entertained someone came and said, “Look! Something is happening over there”. Then the whole group moved on to the next spectacle and the congregation that they had just left was disheartened at what “the enemy had done” and declared by faith that God would come upon them again and keep proclaiming, believing revival would come again. They didn’t so much seem to be concerned people weren’t coming to Christ, but rather, that they had lost their audience.

The spectators and congregations kept going on this way…the spectators moving from congregation to congregation and the congregations valuing themselves based on their numbers and attendance.

Suddenly a huge wind stirred the canopy above, so loud that in the natural, if one heard this you would look to see if a storm was coming, but the loud whooshing sound was perceived as applause and kicked the noise from the congregations up a notch…they were feeling that they were approved of.

I saw the pink meteor come in and as it hit, it spread out like a pink fog and was coming over everyone and anything. I was really shouting now, my voice is big….you couldn’t hear it in all the noise. I watched this haze come over the singers and choirs and speakers and spectators and marveled that no one seemed to notice….then I looked up and realized that there was no natural or light from the heavens, the canopy was completely grown over, unpruned, overgrown, and why they couldn’t hear the watchmen, nor seemed to want to hear from the watchmen …we had our own lights under there, street lamp type of illuminations, light of man.  They didn’t perceive because there was no standard to judge it by except to illumination man created, by that standard…there was no discernment of its danger.

I watched in grief, hoarse from yelling, this haze swept over all that I knew and watched over and cared for, there was a small group of believers praying…ardently and a brother who is used in prayer and worship was praying with them, faces intent all on their knees, this brother’s head was a little higher and I perceived he had an authority within this prayer group, a guardianship and was used as a facilitator in this setting. The group itself was tight knit shoulder to shoulder as this meteor circle around this group I knew it was looking for a way in…a weak link but it just kept circling around finding no way in. They were like a ring of fire. Yet still…their heads were down, not up, they also seemed unaware of danger.

At that point I noticed there were also no roads to or from this place, who was coming to the fellowships? Who was going out to the lost? A way, bridge, path…nothing to bring new folks here…but then I thought…bring them into what? A sad resignation in my heart blossomed a horrible realization, they are content with this. My heart was heavy

I needed to hear from the Lord, but the noise and chaos made it hard to hear His voice.

I had remembered seeing others from my watch post who had climbed above the canopy, some had even gotten wings and flew to higher places…If I’m gonna be of any help here, I thought, I’ve got to get higher, to place where I can hear Him.

I started climbing up, grabbing leaves and with great labor and heaviness of heart I made my way up…I was so tired it took ALL I had to, take my leave and pull up and away….but in order to rightly discern I had to get away from this madness. My heart was with those prayer warriors, praying God would keep them and protect all He was doing there, though small. With great exhaustion I finally made it to the canopy top, the light and the wind refreshed and revived me immediately. I looked around and saw another meteor coming in…my first thought was to warn everybody under the canopy, that was my job, and then with heaviness realized they cannot hear or see, nor do they want to.

My hands rested on the top of the tree, I could see the valley, the distant hills, breathe the clear fresh air.

Peace.

I looked up and asked the Lord what He wanted me to do…

I woke up

~end

Thoughts on this:

for the “church” that has become an entertainment fiasco, feeding our flesh and emotions…I was so grieved at the lack of discernment…I marvel sometimes what we are looking for in a fellowship of believers if it isn’t the nature and character of Christ.

I will endeavor not to add too much of my thoughts on this.