The Church Must Die<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe fact that the church is called to die should not surprise us, for this also was the way of Jesus. Though He was not enslaved to the values of Satan as we are, He still showed us that the only way to move forward in God’s plan for the world is to go through death.<\/p>\n
The church often wants to rise up to reveal light and life to the world, but without death there can be no resurrection. We cannot rise until we die.<\/p>\n
So in this book I call on the church to die. To die to all the things the devil gave us 1700 years ago: power, position, and prominence.<\/p>\n
Of course, even once we have died, resurrection does not immediately follow. Jesus was three days in the grave, and so too, the church will spend some time in death before it rises again.<\/p>\n
There is one thing specifically the church can do while it waits for resurrection:<\/p>\n
The Church Can Go to Hell<\/h2>\n One of the great lies of the devil is that hell is only a place where some people go after they die. Many Christians have believed this lie, thereby allowing us to ignore the plight of millions of people all around us who are truly experiencing hell on earth. Many people experience hell every day, and we are oblivious to their pain and loneliness because we have Bible studies and prayer meetings to attend, or simply cannot be bothered.<\/p>\n
So once the church dies to it’s own quest for power, position, and prominence in the world, and before we rise to new life and vibrancy in the Kingdom of God, we must seek out the hellish places on earth, and seek to show the love and mercy of God to people who are chained behind the gates of hell.<\/p>\n
As we do this, a miracle will occur. As we seek to love and rescue those who are bound in prisons of sin, fear, addiction, and loneliness, one day we will look around us and realize that God has accomplished something great:<\/p>\n
The Church Will Rise Again<\/h2>\n The resurrection of the church takes place at the gates of hell. The resurrection of the church takes place only when we are living among the dead and dying. The resurrection of the church takes place only when we are loving and serving those whom nobody else loves or serves.<\/p>\n
The miracle of the resurrection is that as long as it is sought, it cannot be found. But once it is given up, and we embrace the death and sickness all around us, it is then that God raises us up out of ashes, and allows His love and grace to flow through us into the darkness and gloom all around. It is then that we discover true freedom and joy. True life and light. True power and glory.<\/p>\n
Death and Resurrection<\/h2>\n This is a basic summary of the book. I hope I didn’t spoil the book for you…<\/p>\n
If it sounds like a book you want to read, I will be sending out a free copy in just a few days, so make sure you have subscribed<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to the email newsletter!<\/p>\nAnd hey, would you Tweet<\/strong> and Like<\/strong> and +1<\/strong> this post to let your friends and followers know about this free ebook offer as well? Thanks!<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In my book, The Death and Resurrection of the Church, I argue that in order to rise to new life and vibrancy in the Kingdom of God, the church must die. My newest ebook will be distributed FOR FREE to newsletter subscribers next week. So make sure you have subscribed. And tell your friends about this as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[14,1212],"class_list":{"0":"post-17468","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-books-by-jeremy-myers","8":"tag-death-and-resurrection-of-the-church","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n
Death and Resurrection of the Church<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n