Join us for a day of celebration and jubilee! Since January 12, Revive Indiana has been organizing prayers teams to go out and bless others. God's favor has rested on this effort as many have made decisions to be disciples of Jesus Christ, many have been healed, and many have found God's direction and voice. We eat together, pray together, go out together, and celebrate and worship together. The plan is to do this for 52 days and this period will end on March 4, 2015.  

That entire day will be a day of celebration, as thousands gather to go out into the streets with singing, trumpets and prayer. We will celebrate God's deliverance and healing in our community, eat together, and worship together.

Celebrations and feasts were a part of the fabric of Jewish life from their beginning. The evening of March 4th also begins the Jewish Feast of Purim.  This festival celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people from Haman's plot to destroy them. God accomplished this through a young woman named Esther who had the faithfulness and courage to go before the king with boldness to make her request. 

We will also celebrate in northern Indiana for the deliverance God has given us from our spiritual impoverishment and malaise. We will celebrate the small acts of courage and boldness by many people as they faithfully went out and prayed and spoke words of healing and hope to the surrounding community. But most of all, we will celebrate Jesus, the one who is faithful, active, and present in our community. 

You can prepare for this by making sure you clear your schedule and ask off from work or school.  Prepare with prayer and fasting on your own. Join us in the days leading up to March 4th to come and see what God is doing. We'd love to see you join us, whether from near or far.
-John M Troyer

Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), tells the story of how they first began the Mercy Ship ministry. They felt God's call and provision to purchase a particular boat. Money was flowing in and excitement was building. But as quickly as it started, it stopped. No more money, no more peace.  They prayed and fasted together to understand why this happened.  They received a clear answer: they had become more excited about the thing and lost sight of the refreshing sweetness of Jesus' presence.  In the end, they lost that boat, along with the money for the down payment. But they learned to keep their focus on God and He continues to sustain their ministry.

I am struck by how easy it is to do this. When God moves and miracles happen, we talk about the miracles. When we've developed our systems and theology in a way that makes sense, we talk about our systems and theology. When something exciting and new happens in our church, we talk about our church. When a new event or movement of God happens, we tell people about the new event or movement.  We invite people to come and see the thing rather than staying focused on the King.

I have been grateful for the burden I see in Revive Indiana leaders to continue pointing toward Jesus. Jesus is the One who heals us, delivers us, and saves us. The prayers, going out each day, the events, the miracles, and the music exist only for the purpose of engaging with Jesus and inviting others to see Him.  The favor of God is clearly resting in a new way on northern Indiana. He is doing things I never imagined He would do. The Revive Indiana team and the area churches have been faithful stewards of this movement. I don't know exactly what God will do next. But I do know this: If a church fails, if something negative happens with Revive Indiana, God's movement here in this area is bigger than any of our organizations.  God will carry forward with whatever it is that He wants to do.

This movement of God is dramatically changing lives, especially in our youth. Pretend kings are being dethroned as the One True King is placed on the throne. These acts of God are breaking down the preconceived ideas of every denomination and church about how God will get things done. For seasoned people of faith, we cannot plan or anticipate this. But we can get involved. We can pray. And we can test everything with the scriptures. Too many times we reject new things because they don't fit with what God has done in our lives in the past. But the witness of scripture is so much bigger than our own theology, traditions, and experiences.

Last Thursday, I was able to participate in an historic, multi-racial gathering of pastors in Elkhart. Why did it happen? It wasn't because of elaborate planning on anyone's part. It happened because God decided it was time for it to happen.  And as a result of a few people saying yes to God's timing, walls are starting to break down.  

So please come and see.  Come and see because we need your help. If you're keeping your distance because you're afraid this thing will go off the rails, come and see. Pray, test it with scripture and help us stay true to the way of Jesus. If you don't live in this area. make plans to come.  We'll get plowed out of our snow storm by the end of the day and we'll have room for you. We need you. Not because we want to glorify Revive Indiana. But because we see the glory of God in our midst. We think you'll see it too.
-John M Troyer

Over the last two weeks, I've been involved in Revive Indiana.  The pace has been a stretch, and I've made many new friends.  I've also had a number of conversations with people who have questions.  What is this about? Who is involved? Is it really a move of God or just some great marketing?

There is an important distinction to be made. Revive Indiana is a vessel, an organization with leaders who are a vehicle that God is using to change our community.  The excitement and energy that is currently focused around this organization does not negate the way God is already at work in many others places, both inside and outside the local churches in our community.  The level of involvement a pastor or congregation has with Revive Indiana is not a sign of how faithful and true they are. The outpouring and blessings of God are not constrained by human designs and plans. 

At the same time, something is clearly happening in a powerful way.  What is making this work?  I believe it is the coming together of the favor of God through the commitment to very specific acts of obedience.  Ultimately, this "works" because God is at work. It is as if God has simply said, "It's Time!" to our community.  The reports of healing, commitment to Christ, the openness to disruption and life change are not a result of human power.

For me personally, it feels like the story of the man who went to the hardware store to buy a chainsaw.  He asked the worker for a good saw, and selected one of the most powerful and largest models they had in the store.  He purchased it and went home, but was back the next day.  "This is a terrible saw, I've hardly made any progress and I've been working for hours on one small tree."  The worker took the saw from him, pulled the starter cord, and the saw roared to life. Startled, the customer jumped back and said, "What's that noise?"  After years of trying to use a chainsaw that wasn't running, it feels like the power has been turned on. 

There are four specific acts of obedience that I see as being critical to this continued favor. The first is the willingness to put the work of God's activity through the Holy Spirit, grounded in scripture, at the center of daily discernment.  The Revive Indiana leaders ask us to Love - Listen - Discern - Respond in every encounter.  I see them exemplify this in the pattern of their own lives. 

The second is the humility of gathering with others that help us cross denominational boundaries within the church. Churches are coming together, not as a rejection of the local churches, but for the purpose of unifying together in prayer and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit for this community.  

The third is the faithfulness of simply going out each day in teams to pray for others. About ten years ago I gathered with several groups of church leaders that would read and reflect on Luke 10, the passage where Jesus sent out the 72 to share the good news with others. We did this every time we met for several years, and not once did I make it a point to actually go and do what the passage invited me to do. We are now doing this.  On Saturday, 400 gathered to form 100 teams and pray for others. This was not about promoting a local church or Revive Indiana, it was about encounters with Jesus.

The fourth act of obedience is to eat together. In Acts, the table of fellowship is not just about communion, but also about the nature what it means to be connected with each other around an open table. Breakfast, lunch and dinner for six days of the week form the core of these places of connection as the gathered church.  Revive Indiana and the local churches have partnered together to make this a reality for 52 days. This comes at tremendous cost and sacrifice with no dramatic appeal for donations to cover costs. It is simply the church being the church together.
-John M Troyer

If you haven't yet been present for any Revive Indiana events, I invite you to come and check them out.  
Monday - Thursday
7:00am – Prayer time at Maple City Chapel (2015 Lincolnway E, Goshen, IN 46526)
8:00am – Breakfast at Maple City Chapel
9:00am – Organize into teams and Go Out to pray for churches

12:00pm – Noon time Prayer
Monday – First Baptist Church Elkhart 53953 County Road 17, Bristol, IN 46507
Tuesday – Nappanee Missionary Church 70417 State Road 19 North, Nappanee, IN 46550
Wednesday – Brenneman Missionary Church 61115 Indiana 15, Goshen, IN 46528
Thursday – Faith Mission 801 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN
1:00pm – Lunch
2:00pm – Organize into teams and Go Out to pray for people

Monday - Thursday
5:30pm – Supper at Maple City Chapel (2015 Lincolnway E, Goshen, IN 46526)
7:00pm – Evening Prayer and Worship at Maple City Chapel

Friday
7:00am – Prayer time at Maple City Chapel (2015 Lincolnway E, Goshen, IN 46526)
8:00am – Breakfast at Maple City Chapel
9:00am – Organize into teams and Go Out to pray for churches
12:00pm – Noon time Prayer at River of Life Fellowship (11162 Indiana 120, Middlebury, IN 46540)
1:00pm – Lunch
2:00pm – Organize into teams and Go Out to pray for people
5:30pm – Supper at Clinton Frame Mennonite Church (63846 County Road 35, Goshen, IN 46528)
7:00pm – Training at Clinton Frame Mennonite (nursery through 3rd grade)

Saturday
7:00am – Prayer time at Clinton Frame Mennonite Church (63846 County Road 35, Goshen, IN 46528)
8:00am – Breakfast at Clinton Frame Mennonite Church
9:00am – Organize into teams and Go Out to pray for churches
12:00pm – Noon time Prayer at Calvary Assembly of God (1010 East Mishawaka Road, Elkhart, IN 46517)
1:00pm – Organize into teams and Go Out to pray for people
2:00pm – Lunch (out in the community with your team)
5:30pm – Supper at Clinton Frame Mennonite Church (63846 County Road 35, Goshen, IN 46528)
7:00pm – Evening Worship at Clinton Frame Mennonite (reviveKIDS and nursery)

Sunday
Worship at your local congregation and celebrate what God has done
Rest

I was moved last night as I saw hundreds of you gather on the stage at Revive Indiana.  I was moved, not because of your numbers, but because of the palpable movement of the Holy Spirit in your midst. All day, as I was praying alone and with others, I had a strong sense that Day 10 of our 52 day adventure was Freedom Day, especially for young people. And now, for those of you who weren't there, I want to invite you into something new. Some of you are in bondage. And Jesus has declared that in Him we can find life and freedom and joy.

You are the first generation to carry in your hands access to unlimited pornography which has crippled and trapped many of you. I invite you live into the favor of Jesus for your generation in this community and find freedom.

Some of you are struggling with addictions to drugs and alcohol, seeking out the next thrill without caring about the cost it may have in wrecking your life and your body. I invite you to live into the favor of Jesus for your generation in this community and find freedom. 

Some of you, like the Biblical Hebrews living in slavery in the land of Goshen, have carried heavy weights and expectations that are too high and too burdensome. You are asked to make more and more "bricks" by us adults in your studies and in extracurricular activities. We repent of the immensity of that burden, and shed tears for the emotional and physical damage it has done to you. We invite you to live into the favor of Jesus for your generation in this community and find freedom. 

Some of you are living a religious life that is without life. You have dutifully tried to be good and to do the right things but are mystified by what it means to truly live in the power of the Holy Spirit speaking into your life. We invite you to live into the favor of Jesus for your generation in this community and find freedom.

Some of you embraced a way of life that is that is presented as the path of peace and justice but is emptied of the living and real presence of God.  We repent that we as a church have remained quiet and avoided these justice concerns and have failed to demonstrate in our own lives the living and real presence of the Holy Spirit. We invite you to live into the favor of Jesus for your generation in this community and find freedom.

Some of you have lived in a roller coaster of emotions with intense worship but have not known the fruits of a transformed life. We repent that we as a church have not helped empower you to live into the favor of Jesus for your generation in this community and find freedom. 

This movement of God is much larger than one church or even an organization like Revive Indiana. It is a favor of God that only He has brought to this time and place.  Freedom is only found for the captives when we truly hear the direct voice of God through the Holy Spirit and then respond in obedience to the promptings He brings. As a host pastor, I invite you to take the opportunity to participate and be trained for that kind of life by joining Revive Indiana on Friday night at Clinton Frame Mennonite Church.  It is a night to strengthen all the churches in the community. This is a special night with not just worship, but clear Biblical teaching on how to press forward in the life of faith and freedom that only God can give. We will eat supper together at 5:30 and then begin at 7.  Bring a friend and come see what God will do.
-John M Troyer

This past few days I have seen God work in ways that I have longed to see for many, many years. On Friday, one of the young men in our youth group had his faith renewed and received the full indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Yesterday he went with a team of people to pray for our community and received a clear call and path to find and pray for a young man walking along the road and helped lead this young man to say yes to Jesus. Some friends of mine whose son has struggled with allergies and eczema received miraculous healing through the prayer of faith.  Yesterday, I was able to be a part of a team that was uniquely equipped to care for a sweet Christian lady who is experiencing intense pain and loneliness. These are just some of the stories of some of the people I know. Hundreds more are daily experiencing these divine appointments and healings in their workplaces and through intentional prayer in the community. People are seeing visions of God's favor and blessing resting on this community.

God is at work. Revival is happening in Northern Indiana. In this revival, we are seeing "fruit in keeping with repentance." We are seeing not just the sorrow of letting go of things of the past, but also the joy of new life and witness. We are not just seeing people who embrace the boldness of sharing faith with words, but people who are also sharing life and sacrificing on behalf of others. We are seeing not just conversion stories, but intentional follow up and walking together as disciples of Christ. We are not just seeing people from one background, congregation, or age, but people from all ages, backgrounds and walks of life. 

This movement is not the movement of  people who do everything right, who carefully plan their way forward. It is a movement of courage and challenge and mistakes. It is a movement in which we brush up against the denominational preferences of others and they rub us the wrong way. It is a movement in which cultures clash and our language is clumsy. It is a movement which will frighten some, anger some, and create barricades. But in the midst of this movement is the power of God at work to transform and do something new. 

We will see a backlash, a renewed effort to assign labels meant to discredit what is happening. But at its heart there is a simple return to the power of Christ's living presence and the desire to fully yield one's life in His service. I am ready and willing to serve.

Some of the numbers: Since a week ago, several hundred are going out each day in teams and praying for the community. The number gathered for worship each evening has been growing and is currently around 2,000. The intention is to continue doing this for a total of 52 days. 
-John M Troyer

The last few days I have been reading The Secret of the Strength by Peter Hoover.  I've been moved by this compilation of quotes from original Anabaptist sources and the challenge to be fully yielded to God. I was introduced to this on Sunday in my congregation when an Amish couple came as guests of our church and shared their story of renewal.   Here is the quote that was shared on Sunday:

This couple came to our church because they helped start a gathering of churches seeking renewal in Northern Indiana.  If you get a chance, I invite you to follow the links to read the book for free, to watch message from the Amish couple, and to learn more about what God is doing in the Northern Indiana community.
-John M Troyer 

When I was fifteen, I was pretty sure I was living in dark days. I had transferred to a  new school, and there were only four of us in high school. None of us wanted to be there, and as a result we didn't treat each other well.  Toward the end of the year, I stopped caring. I was desperate for things to change, and I became openly defiant and disobedient at home. I would sneak out of the house to go with friends while I was grounded, ready to do all the things I had avoided. I started shoplifting even though I had the money in my pocket to purchase things. 

One night at G.L. Perry Variety Store, the manager detained me at the door and my life changed radically. I was arrested and taken to the police station. The hardest call of my life was to ask my parents if they would come and pick me up. This began the dark days of shame, facing my community and being forced to work through it with them. I wanted nothing more than to be able run away and start over somewhere else. However, the best thing for me was that I had to stay and work it through. 

This has formed an important ethic in me. I believe in finishing well, in not burning bridges. I am so grateful that I stayed another two years to work at relationships before I was given permission to find a new church. I've had a number of difficult moments in the years since my arrest. In each, I was able to draw on that earlier time to stay true to my calling in the midst of my failure. 

Changes and new beginnings are a part of life. But we can do our best to end well, to leave with integrity, to tend to the relationships that will be altered. Do the hard work of saying good-by. Recognize that people will be hurt and angry, but keep your own integrity in the midst of it.  It's in those moments that our character and resolve will be tested. People will try all kinds of things to push us into a reactive mode.  But it is those moments that define us, that reveal our inner resolve and strength. Then when it's time to move, move as quickly as possible and plant in the new place.
-John M Troyer

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I've spoken before of my growing up years in the Beachy Amish church. When I thought about leaving and going to a place that was less restrictive and conservative, there were a lot of fears.  I never was baptized there, but the messages seemed to come that I would experience losses if I left. Some were directly named for me by my father, but others were more subtly communicated through stories. The strongest stories were the stories that communicated how messed up life became for people who did leave, how far away they fell from God, and how their lives were filled with all kinds of sin. It shaped for my young mind an understanding of reality that somehow all these things would also happen to me. As I got older, my fear was less that those things would happen to me, but that I would become one of those stories that were told. I was surprised to eventually discover that there were many who had left and built lives that were God-centered and full.

Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, gave a TED talk in which she "tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding." This single story idea, is powerful because it misses no one. It is the very beginning of the scapegoating process, a process that flattens and loses the nuances of those who disagree with us.  This metaphor is an excellent example of what I saw in my growing up years. I learned a particular view, not because it was in some curriculum, but because all the stories together shaped a perspective. 

Activists, both within and outside the church, use this method. We wait for one person to push out ahead and name a direction we don't like, then like the game of Whack-a-Mole, we use the story hammer to polarize, freeze and isolate that person. We cast aspersions, cluck or tongues, and fully engage in the slanderous act of misrepresenting their perspective and kindness.  Ron Sider recently wrote a blog post for Mennonite World Review in which he stakes out a perspective that will "uphold biblical teaching about homosexuality — and be places to love and listen rather than shame or exclude." Almost immediately, the responses came in which activists conveyed their disbelief that their single story about a conservative perspective on marriage might be untrue. As a result, a man who has devoted his life to justice and peace with advocacy for the poor and marginalized has these young activists immediately suspicious of his motives and the reality of his love. They cling tightly to their single story.

When a couple is going through marital difficulty, many times they feel the marriage has ended long before anyone either party takes any formal steps to say it is over.  What I have already seen is that this can turn into a waiting game, waiting for the other person to make a public misstep so they can rally the opinion of their family and friends onto their side.  It is the fight to come out of the divorce with a single story and to end up with the most assets and receive child custody. It is about blame and retribution.

In Mennonite Church USA, we are experiencing the same thing. We are not one church, and we weren't even when two denominations merged together fifteen years ago. What we are seeing now is an attempt to shape a single story, that staying one denomination is the one most holy good that we can agree must be pursued, and that leaving this denomination (or being divisive or causing a split) is the one unpardonable sin that must be condemned.  All this is given in the name of diversity. (The irony in taking this position is quite palpable.)  I have even had people name our institutional connection as a denomination as a commitment that is on par with a couples commitment to stay together until death would part them from each other. Frankly, that is not what an institutional commitment means, and it's disingenuous to try to make it that.  There is no shame in choosing to separate as a denomination, and our testimony is helped when we help each other do that well rather than pretending we need to continue clinging to each other to the bitter end.  Our merger has resulted in a fifteen year War of the Roses and a truce should be declared in that war. It's time to let it end.

As a result, leaders are paralyzed in taking action that really is for the good of the whole. The whole denomination needs leaders who are willing to come together (maybe that will help mitigate the effects of whack-a-mole) and say that we are two bodies and we need to do our best to help each body move forward in as healthy a way as possible.  Let's make our testimony about ending well, not about making an idolatrous creed around institutional unity at all costs.
-John M Troyer

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Moving teens out of the enslavement of schedules is hard work. In yesterday's post, I outlined the problems with where we are at. Today the focus is on defining the center and living in it.

At the heart of any change is inner transformation. It is in knowing God's voice and having communion with Him. It is knowing what it means to be at peace. Reclaiming your life is not about climbing back on another performance treadmill. As I present these ideas, remember that they are there to serve you, not for you to serve them. When Jesus disciples were eating grain from the fields on the Sabbath, the religious leaders challenged Jesus. Jesus' response was, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” (Mark 2:27-28 NLT) 

At the same time, we diminish the power we have as parents to decide what family life looks like. We see ourselves as victims of the whims of a coach, director, or teacher. As a parent, you have been given the task by God to shape your child's influences and schedule. A few years ago at a Mennonite youth convention, Luke Hartman told the story of his mother's limit setting. She had told him he could play baseball as long as he did not miss church on Wednesday evening. One Wednesday afternoon his team was in a tournament and the final game went into extra innings. The team had been through all of their pitchers for the day and Luke was the only one left. It was time to leave for church, but his team would have to forfeit and lose the championship game. He was horrified to look up and see his mother walk up to his coach and let him know in know uncertain terms that Luke was leaving the game and they were going to church. The interesting thing for me as Luke told this story is that the group of several thousand Mennonite youth began to applaud his mother's courage. While young people may be embarrassed and angry when their parents take this kind of stand, they also admire the courage and principle that adults exhibit as they define and craft life around their value system. As a parent, you can choose what defines your lives.

So the journey to reclaiming life begins with communion with Jesus to define your priorities. What are the things that you will insist must be a part of your family routine?  If you decide to make occasional exceptions, how often will you allow it? Begin by choosing what forms the fundamental blocks of time in your family calendar. God created us for six days of work and one day of rest. If we ignore that too long, we will destroy ourselves. Define what that rest looks like through the week and when it will happen. Sabbath, family dinners or breakfast, devotions, church activities, social connections, and vacation and holiday plans might all be a part of this. Our work and leisure lives as adults should also be on the table as we decide what matters. As we make sacrifices in our own lives, our children will be more willing to do that also.

If you live in a North America, you have more freedom to choose your life than at any other time in history. However, we are shaping these lives into frantic busyness which destroys us. God has shaped a life that is for you and your family. Let him define that for you as you pursue His championship trophy. 

Tomorrow we will look at some of the practical aspects of saying no in all the arenas that demand our time.
-John M Troyer

This blog is updated each weekday. Liking the Facebook page will not automatically update your news feed with new posts. If you would like receive regular notifications of new posts, join the Facebook group at this link. If you would like to subscribe by email, you can do so at the top of this page.