Let me say this up front: I’m not anti-church, but I am at war. Actually, many of us are at war, and some don’t even know it. I’m not warring against people, pastors, pulpits, or pews. I’m not fighting those who are earnestly trying to serve Jesus within the four walls of a building. God can use anything, a barn, a basement, a gas station, a mega church, or a coffee shop. He is not confined to any kind of style, size, or structure.
What many of us are at war with is something far more subtle and dangerous. Religious systems that have replaced the power of the Spirit with the performance of man. I’m at war with the kind of church culture that has elevated charisma over an individual’s character. It has focused more on titles than testimonies and has preferred platform over presence.
Family, please listen. I am not against the “traditional church.” I have seen God move greatly in the traditional church. I was saved, like many of you, in a traditional church. I have seen and been a part of healings, salvation, and deliverances. This is not an us against them post. Now, what I am against is the Constantinian compromise. A structure that began in the 4th century and still haunts us today. It rewards control, applauds hierarchy, and builds empires rather than laying down lives. That’s not what Jesus and the apostles built. That’s not “ekklesia.” That’s Rome dressed in religious robes.
Let’s be clear, the early church didn’t have stage lights, worship sets, or sermon series. Please do not hear what I am not saying. I have nothing personally against those things. The early church had fire. They had fellowship. They had house-to-house gatherings and face-to-face discipleship. They had persecution, not perks. They did not sit in rows to be pacified; they were activated, equipped, and released, and I, like many of you, believe that is where we are heading again. Not back in style, but in spirit. A reformation is rumbling beneath the surface.
Why am I so passionate about the many things I have been sharing these last few months, and if we are honest, the last few years? Because I am at war. I am at war with the kind of shepherds who scatter the sheep instead of laying their lives down for them. I am at war with prophets who act more like spiritual slot machines, charging fees for a word, performing instead of proclaiming. I am at war with apostles who require “monthly honorariums” to raise up sons and daughters when Paul said, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Corinthians 12:15).
I am at war with evangelists who scream hell without extending a hand to help someone out of it. I am at war with teachers who preach comfort over conviction, tickling ears while dulling hearts. I am at war with the kind of church where abuse gets swept under the rug to protect reputations. Those crying out for help are silenced in the name of unity. Where image matters more than integrity. That’s not revival, it’s religious rot. Jesus flipped tables over that kind of thing.
You know what? While we’re here, let’s talk about the two brides.
One bride has real oil. She’s bruised but burning. Her lamp is trimmed because she’s spent time in the secret place. She’s walked through the wilderness. She’s wept in the hidden place. Her oil cost her something. The other bride is all performance. All polish. Her oil is borrowed. She has the look, but not the intimacy. She is loud, visible, influential, but empty. One is being prepared for the Bridegroom. The other is playing church with no fear of the King.
Beloved, this is not about one type of church or the other.” That’s a surface-level argument. The real issue is function vs. form. Are we building systems that make disciples or just gatherings that keep people dependent? Are we forming Christ in people or just forming crowds?
King Saul’s house is still trying to hold the throne. But David’s house, humble, hidden, messy, is rising, and the ark is coming back into the hands of the remnant. Saints, there is a line being drawn. This is a kingdom conflict, not a branding dispute. I’m not interested in choosing sides based on style or size. But I will choose sides when it comes to His truth. When it comes to purity. When it comes to whether we’re building Egypt or New Jerusalem. Because there is a war happening. A reformation. A judgment that starts in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). And everyone is being forced to answer one question: “Will you follow the crowd or carry the cross?”
Sons and daughters of the Most High, choose wisely because oil can’t be shared at midnight.
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