Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
My pastor told a prophecy that he feels God gave to him some 25 years ago. He admits that it is an unpopular word that has gotten him in a lot of trouble, and has cost him some friendships.
American churches have been going the wrong way for the last two generations! We have been abandoning spiritual life in exchange for entertainment and corporate life. As a result, we are richer and more complex, but we're nearly spiritually bankrupt!
We have two generations of people in the pews many of whom don't know the language of Zion and they've forgotten their way into the presence of God.
Our churches have increasingly become meeting places that are really cool, in which the spirit of the Lord has long departed because he has not been entertained, noticed or even acknowledged.
At preacher's conferences, it used to be that they were arguing about passages of scripture, or talking about some spiritual experience that they had. That's rarely the case these days! Preachers are talking about some new program that will bring in more people and money into the church.
Our churches are led by good people who love the Lord, but they've never been fully discipled and have never had an encounter of their own with God....AND IT IS SHOWING because the spiritual life of our churches is getting thinner and thinner!
We have had to shorten our services because people can only take so much talking and music! When the spirit of the Lord is in the place, people can stay for hours!