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Are We “Doing” Church so Well that We’ve Missed “Being” the Church?

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Last Thursday, my husband boarded a plane with our oldest son to take him to Dallas, TX. Steve returned home on Friday. Austin will remain in God’s hands for the next two weeks sharing the Gospel with strangers. I expect when he returns home, he will be changed.

God has planted a seed in our son’s heart to bring revival to his campus and our community. He heard about a movement happening in Dallas, and asked us if he could go serve. He wanted to step in faith beyond his comfort to reach out to people with Christ’s love, and he wanted to learn from the team working there so he could bring the knowledge back and let God use him to ignite revival here.

God is revealing Himself in Dallas-Fort Worth, dear one. The harvest is plentiful, and in an unprecedented coalition of over 300 churches bridging denominations, the workers are not few. The Acts church rises in their midst, laying down laws for love and walking out the Gospel’s call to go and make disciples.

A woman participating in the outreach posted this letter last week. I pray that God uses it to help blind eyes see and empower the lame in our churches to start walking.

 

Friday, May 12, 2017

My Repentance Letter – #ReviveTX

Dear Church –

When I was an 18-year-old Bible school student, I stopped one day by the prompting of the Holy Spirit at a flower stand, and after about an hour of loving, listening, discerning, and responding, I led a French international student to Jesus. I will never forget that moment. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life, because I had just reproduced the Kingdom for the first time.

Fast forward over twenty years and I am still passionate for Jesus. I pursue Jesus and I ask God daily to keep me hungry for Him. Most people in my life know that about me – I am the same person everywhere I go.

I can read off all of my accomplishments – I have run small businesses, I have had favor in politics, led worship for years and wrote songs, given sacrificially into the Kingdom of God, been passionate about foreign missions, ministered in Romania and Guatemala, wrote discipleship books, and planted a house church with my husband – but yet I can only count on two hands the amount of people that I have actually led to Jesus in AMERICA in the last twenty years since I was that 18 year old Bible school student.

I have talked more ABOUT lost humanity – than I have talked TO lost humanity.

I have talked more about evangelism, discipleship, and church planting than I have actually evangelized, discipled, and church planted.

I say that I am a missionary to America – speaking into the lives of amazing elected officials and impacting our nation, yet rarely do I ever go as far as to make sure that people are really born again.

I have been a woman pursuing Jesus and first century Christianity, but there has been a disconnect in my heart toward what He really cares most about – the lost sheep walking about me in my city and my nation every day.

In the last three weeks, only going out three days with Revive Texas, I have been a part of leading 10 people to Jesus – 6 of those saying YES to Jesus for the VERY first time. Three of these people said to me or our team that they had NEVER heard this simple gospel before. They had never read “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” They have never heard that “God demonstrated His love toward us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

I am still in shock at the magnitude of the harvest that is ready in our city and the disconnect that we, the church, have had to go after the harvest. I led a precious lady to Jesus at the gas station by my office on Wednesday just because I took off work to share my faith.

I repent before you today that I have prayed for revival but never fully understood what I was praying for.

I have prayed passionately for the church to be ONE in the spirit of John 17, but never really understood the full purpose of why that was important.

I repent that my eyes have not seen the thousands of people around me in DFW that have NEVER heard the good news that I say I can’t live without.

I am sorry that even in the midst of helping pastor a house church and being a part of the house church movement that desires and teaches the Acts 2 lifestyle that I, in reality, wasn’t living out Acts 2 day to day – seeing people “added to the church daily.”

Friends, I am sorry that I have not led you toward the harvest that is so ripe. It is a beautiful harvest right here in front of us, but yet I didn’t see it. I didn’t really see it.

My life has been radically changed in the last 25 days and I want you to know that I will never be the same again.

My eyes are now wide open, and by the grace of God, they will not be closed again.

The simple Christianity that I have always yearned for and desired – for over twenty years – has been placed before me in the form of a colorful wristband and a colorful Bible.

I am forever thankful to Kyle & Laura Martin, all the missionaries with Time to Revive that have invaded our city, and the local people who I have walked with the last 25 days who are saying “yes” to Jesus. The seeds of revival are being planted in Dallas-Fort Worth and a prophetic voice has come to town, and as for me – I am asking God to give me ears to hear.

My heart will never recover from this move of God and on day 51 of Revive Texas, June 5th (when the 50 days are officially over), my eyes will still be looking for the harvest.

I know that because this is real repentance.

The Bible says that when we confess our sins to one another that we will be healed. Thank you for hearing my confession and being a witness to my healed heart.

I love you all.

Bunni Pounds
Reality Community

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For more information about Revive Texas – go to www.revivetx.org.