by Billy Wilson
HUNGRY FOR
ships with sinners were encouraged, and many churches opened
their doors to the broken masses without their previous judgmen-
HEAVEN
tal attitudes. We should all praise the Lord for these trends.
The Dangers of Overemphasis on
Horizontal Relationships
Rediscovering the Purposes of Fasting
Nevertheless, I believe that as positive as these trends have
been, significant dangers and difficulties accompanied them. In
trying to make adjustments to reach our generation, many
churches overcompensated and became excessively horizontal.
Under this pressure, these congregations subtly sacrificed the
Cross in favor of the crowd. Raising the statistics, filling the pews,
and keeping the attendees comfortable became more valued than
conversion, purity, spiritual growth, and true transformation.
When a church overemphasizes the horizontal, God’s people
tend to drift toward the lowest common denominator. The
trends in the American church are frightening. Divorce rates,
dependence on prescription drugs, and moral failure are among
the many negatives.
Rethinking Our Disciplines
Following years of horizontal effort and negative results,
many congregations are now rethinking their ministry model
and beginning to reemphasize ways that people can be spiritual-
T
HE TELEVISION SITCOM Friends has been acclaimed as ly transformed. This will undoubtedly lead to a renewed empha-
the most successful sitcom of all time. With 230 sis on the spiritual disciplines, including fasting. Why is fasting
episodes aired over 10 seasons, this show, focusing on so important to the Christian? What purpose does it serve in our
six friends and their stories, became a media phenome- life? Some of the purposes for fasting can be summarized with
non. The reaction of the critics to the pilot episode in 1994 was descriptive words such as these: repentance, readiness, revelation,
not favorable. The show was seen as “not very entertaining, release, restoration, and reward.
clever or original.” However, the final episode drew over 52 mil-
lion American viewers, and by the end of the series in 2004, all
Repentance
six main cast members were paid $1 million per episode. One of the scriptural purposes for fasting is to express our
repentance for personal or corporate sin. Fasting becomes an
Our Need for Relationship
outward sign of our inward brokenness and desperate hope for
The critics underestimated Friends, and they underestimated forgiveness. Fasting is an act of humility. It is a conscious weak-
the social climate in which this popular show would air. The ris- ening of the flesh to state emphatically before God and to our
ing cry for relationships and friendships among teenagers and own heart that we are personally insufficient to do His work.
“twentysomethings” at the turn of the new millennium was The first step in corporate and personal revival is repentance.
almost deafening. In a society experiencing the postmodern col- And the first attitude required for repentance is humility. “If my
lapse of certainty, the longing for connection with others was at people . . . shall humble themselves, and pray” is still the lead
an all-time high. Acceptance, inclusion, self-definition, and rela- statement to God’s promise of renewal, found in 2 Chronicles
tivism were in; discernment, exclusivity, moral absolutes, and 7:14. This humility can be demonstrated by properly answering
conformity were out. The world would forever be changed. the call of God to fast. “I humbled my soul with fasting,” says the
The Western church also changed in this environment. Evan- psalmist (Psalm 35:13).
gelism, leadership, and church life all moved toward a more hori-
zontal, relational approach designed to connect with this genera-
Readiness
tion searching for friends. Certainly these trends produced many Fasting and prayer also position our hearts in readiness to rec-
positive results by pressing churches to become more of a New ognize the Lord’s visitation. Anna was an 84-year-old widow who
Testament community where the love of Jesus is expressed in tan- “served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37,
gible ways. Leaders were pushed to move from their ivory towers NKJV). When Jesus was brought to the Temple, Anna was ready
of positional authority to a posture of service. Evangelistic friend- for Him. While others ignored Him, she recognized His visitation.
12 EVANGEL • MAR 2008
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40