Previously, we began to address the question of why it seems that every host of a great revival gets left in worse shape than before the revival. The answer to that question will give us many important answers that could bring a huge influx of life into the church, as well as enable the church to sustain a level of life and power that could make revivals obsolete and unnecessary. Why is this? Revival is only required when something has to be revived. If the church was living and thriving the way it should be, it would not need...

Having studied revivals and moves of God for nearly forty years, I am yet to find an example of a church or work that could sustain a true revival for more than a few years, and usually two is the limit. Most of the time, the church that hosted the revival, or the region that did, was left in worse condition than before the revival. Why?

Before trying to answer this, let me first say that even though a true revival can be very costly to those who host it, they are still worth it for the good...

After Phase I of a work or move of God, it is hard to transition into Phase II, which is the solidifying, establishing, and securing phase. This will be difficult but necessary work, if the gains are going to become fruit that remains. It can also be a very fulfilling and exciting part of the work, but cannot and should not try to sustain the excitement level of the work in Phase I.

One of my early mentors, a retired Air Force Colonel named Doug Carty, used to say that every Christian should be locked up for six...

This week we will continue our discussion of the three phases of ministry and how it applies to the three parts of the habitations of God in Scripture. As a reminder, I have broken them down into the following general definitions.

Phase I: Rescue and Salvation. The main goal of this phase is to lead people to Christ and add them to the church.

Phase II: Church planting. In the New Testament, all new believers were added to the church. The main goal of this phase is to establish and organize the church...

Two weeks ago we began discussing how the habitations of God in Scripture, the tabernacles and temples, were divided into three compartments, and how we had applied this to our Katrina relief efforts, breaking it down into three phases, which were:

Phase I: Rescue. The main goal in this phase is simply saving lives and getting people to safety.

Phase II: Stabilization. The main goal of this phase is establishing the POD's for sustaining the people with the basic needs of food, medicine, shelter, clothing, etc.

Phase III: Restoration. The...