Coming of the Kingdom - Part III
We generally assume this coming of the Kingdom has to do with something that happens in the future. But what if we look for places where it has already happened? Some years ago now George Otis, Jr. started looking for cities where the Kingdom has come. He (the last time I talked with him) had identified 24 cities, only one of which was in the United States. He then produced a video of four of the cities (Transformations), and even wrote a book (Strategic Intercession) In which he identified factors that were common in all the stories. Two of them were in every single story. We are not talking here about revival - we are talking about cities where everything changed and the Kingdom came. We are talking about political, economic, social, spiritual changes - everything. Otis now has a second tape documenting the change in three regions (Transformations II)
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Here in Portland, back in the eighties Dr. Joe Aldridge sounded the vision and eventually with Terry Dirks and others mobilized pastors with the prayer summits and an action arm called Mission Portland. Here is his vision statement, which is now my own.
What would it take to initiate and sustain a significant work of God in a specific geographical community? In other words, what would it take to see John 17 lived out in answer to the Son’s prayer?”
Another way he verbalized this was that he wanted to see the Kingdom come in its fullness in a specific geograpic area. He believed the answer to his question would come about through a five-part process: holiness, humility, unity, community, and impact.
The spiritual warfare here became intense. Billy Graham did come with a crusade here in 1992, one of his best due to the incredibly unity and prayer that was put down. But after the crusade, Dr. Joe came down with Parkinson. Terry Dirks died on a prayer retreat in Japan. Marshal Pryor, another leader, died of a massive heart attack. and I was paralyzed from the shoulders down even before the crusade by a virus that destroyed my neural system almost completely (I walk again today, miraculously). Jack Dennnison, another local leader, came down with chronic fatigue syndrome he couldn’t shake until he was miraculously healed in Doris Wagner’s office. After failing to get enough support from the pastors for three proposals, however, Jack moved to Colorado Springs and is still a leader in city-reaching.
After talking with Craig Smith here and others, I’m beginning to realize that the vision for Portland hasn’t changed. To put it bluntly, the church needs to be moving with new wineskins and everything has changed.
It is no longer a time for grieving on the past, but time to embrace the new wineskins.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
Isa 43:19 NKJV
Incidentally,in the “New Testamentt” part of Isaiah., the word “new” is used over and over again.
Much of what these new wineskins are like is described in Peter Wagner’s book Changing Church. Much of it seems to to do with embracing an apostolic church order. There were no denominations back there in Jerusalem, but there was power in those churches. My own church recently embraced the apostolic movement and even changed its name to reflect this.
As for myself, I don’t like labels, as labels seem to separate people. Once the Holy Spirit is moving in an area, labels don’t mean anything. But I firmly believe prayer and spiritual mapping are the front end of whatever needs to happen. Cindy Jacobs is already prophesying that a prayer movement will begin in Portland and then move to sweep the country. This is similar to Portland prophecies she has spoken before, but this time there is a difference. Small groups and prayer people are starting to take ownership on the prophecy.