Seeking A Revival Culture Essays On Fortifying An Anemic Church

Description: The great burden of Al Baker's life, that which drives him in Christian ministry more than anything else, is to see the church of the Lord Jesus Christ rise up and become mighty as she has been so often in past years. One thing has become very clear to Baker--the western church is in big trouble. Many pastors are terribly discouraged in their ministries. So are their people. Pastors have been told that they can model their ministries after whoever the latest and hottest preacher is, and all will be well with them, that they can expect exponential growth in their churches. With few exceptions, this has not been their experience. They have attended the seminars and read the latest books, but they have little to show for their efforts. As a pastor, Baker is heartbroken over the vastness of people's problems in today's church--everything from incest, child molestation, homosexuality, pornography, severe depression, suicide, divorce, wayward children, adultery, fornication, and more. The pastoral problems are epidemic. The Christian faith in American churches is woefully lacking. Church people are generally no different from those of the world. What are we to do? We need revival. We need a revival culture in the western church. We need, like Israel laboring under Egyptian bondage, to become intolerable of our circumstances. Israel cried out to the Lord when their slavery became intolerable to them. May God move us to divine discontent, to be dissatisfied with the status quo Endorsements: ""The need for revival in the church is clear. The need in our culture for a revived church is even clearer. So what is a revival culture? Al Baker highlights from history--and more importantly Scripture--the setting, the means, and the context of where the grace of God moves in the hearts and lives of the people of God to revive His church. This in turn 'turns the world upside-down, ' which in reality is right side up. This book is a must for any and all who sense the need of revival in the evangelical church and the need for a revival in a culture of despair that is in the death spiral of rebellion against God. --Harry L. Reeder, III Pastor for Preaching and Leadership Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Alabama ""Al Baker targets a revival culture by means of revival living prompted by a burden for an anemic Church and a hunger to see it return to revival vigor. His volume is as pulsating with Scriptural content and Spiritual energy to that end as I have read for quite some time. It illumines areas of revival living in an eye-opening fashion that should go a long way to cure the anemia that he shows to be all too prevalent."" --Henry Krabbendam Professor Emeritus Covenant College ""Al Baker is one of those rare ministers who combines deep personal piety with ecclesiastical seriousness, evangelistic zeal with scholarly competence. These vital qualities are present throughout his wide-ranging studies, giving them a balance, depth, urgency, and accessibility needed in the church today. I commend them to you."" --Terry Johnson Senior Minister Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia About the Contributor(s): Allen Baker is the Senior Pastor of Christ Community Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, Connecticut. He writes a weekly e-mail devotional, Forget None of His Benefits, read by thousands and his radio program, Between Two Worlds, is heard on several radio stations in New York and Connecticut.