Seeking a Revival Culture

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!