What is spirituality? Talk to people in the world and they will talk about a higher power, the big guy, supernatural beings etc. Yet spirituality is more then that. Spirituality is not only a concept but a way of life. If you talk to many in the church today and by churches I refer to those who believe in the father, son and Holy Spirit you will find that they all talk about being Christ centered. On the surface it sounds wonderful. “Go ye out into the whole world and preach the gospel” is a worthy commission. Yet hang around any of these churches long enough and you start to find out that everyone from the pastor to the ‘lowliest’ member of the congregation has overwhelming problems they don’t know how to deal with. The Christianity most live by is completely superficial. Now of course I know there are exceptions. There are churches where the pastor and the congregation have it together but these days they are becoming more and more rare.

Why is this? Because our spiritual center is not Christ but the work we do for Christ. Please don’t bore me with the importance of the work we do for Christ. I’ve done it and I know that works alone will not change anything and in many cases will leave you wondering what you are missing. I’ve talked to young people who are leaders in the most spiritual of churches and one after another they tell me something is missing. The churches are becoming little kingdoms where those who fit in are given the most attention and those who don’t are ignored and scattered to the winds. They are arrogant, abusive and uncaring. Contrary to what they must be.

So how can this change? By hard work but not the kind of works where you go out and try to change the world. Do you know why? Because almost everyone who tries to change the world before their own heart is changed ends up making a bigger mess then if they had just sat at home. There is only one way to get things straight and that is a return to God through Jesus Christ where He is the center piece of our lives. Until we learn how to dedicate ourselves to prayer and dedicate ourselves to seeking God and hearing His voice the things we do will be tainted by the sin of this world.

I do not say this because I think it might be an answer to our poor spiritual condition. I speak it, I shout it out, at least from these pages, as being the only way to get things right. Our churches are becoming so like the world that we now use mostly human resources to make changes in peoples lives. And because they are human resources or works of the flesh, they have no lasting change and peoples lives are filled with despair, discouragement and total bewilderment. This is true from the pastor to the pew.

This brings up Sanctuary. Each person who wants to be part of Sanctuary, as a leader, must first have a relationship with Christ. And I do not meant a superficial relationship either where you are living in sin during the week and dressing like a saint on Sunday.

One thing I believe God is showing me is that I will be there to help train others in spiritual warfare, learning to hear God through dreams or other methods, recognizing what is and is not human versus divine wisdom. God wants a purified church without spot or wrinkle. Unfortunately the dry cleaners is all backed up and there are spots and wrinkles everywhere you look. The only thing that will fix this problem is prayer and praying down the strongholds that prevent people from seeing and understanding the truth.