A Great Awakening

This morning I spoke at a conference for worship pastors. Before I spoke I sat in a session where they were on a skype call with some innovative worship "designers" who were in Hong Kong working with Chinese pastors and worship leaders. They are working with the Chinese because there is a great revival happening over there, and not just in China, but lots of places in the East.

Back in November I read an article in World Magazine about the leading economist in Beijing, Zhao Xiao. He became a Christian in 2004, but because of his status as a leading economist, he is still a member of the Communist Party and is held in high esteem in his government. Zhao has sold his government on the need for morality in markets and has convinced Party leaders that Christian ideals are what will bring China a sustainable society and economic development.

Let's not forget that this is a nation with a horrible human rights record, especially concerning their dealings with believers. When I first heard about "awakening" in the East several month ago, I was skeptic. How could that be happening in such a repressive nation? After reading the article about Zhao it became a little more plausible that an awakening may be occuring there, maybe even the next Great Awakening.

What's sad in all that is that the next awakening will leave us in the West out. We are a post-Christian culture moving far, far away from the practice of Christian principles in our government and society. Who knows, maybe China will one day be the nation people think of when the term "Christian nation" is spoken. Too bad the Christian population in the U.S. has been too quiet and too docile far too long - what did we expect the end result to look like?

God, awaken me; help me to be renewed in what appears to be a non-renewable society.