RALLYING THE TROOPS

Francis August Schaeffer (1912-1984) was an American Evangelical pastor and theologian. He broke with the Presbyterian Church denomination and moved to Switzerland in 1948 and wrote of the need to return to the roots of the Christian faith. In 1981 he wrote “A Christian Manifesto” to offset the effect of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. At that time Communism had made great inroads all over the world and Schaeffer felt the need to rebuff this evil thinking that had enslaved so many nations in the world. It also rebuked the Humanist Manifesto written in 1933 and its 1973 revision.

The sad news is that American Christians never rallied around Schaeffer and as a result his ministry never took off. He wrote a number of books, Pat Robertson spoke highly of him on his program the “700 Club” and so did some other Christian leaders in the United States. Even though the majority of conservative Christians heartily agreed with Schaeffer, they never joined or supported him financially and he died of cancer three years after he wrote “A Christian Manifesto.”

If Schaeffer’s writings would have been aggressively marketed in the United States, the political and moral climate would be different today but no leader can go to war without troops. God called Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt but they would never have left if they had not rallied around Moses. Likewise God called David to become the King of Israel but there would have been no kingdom to rule if the people had not rallied around David.

This is how I feel about the ministry God has called me to lead. There is no doubt that God has called and commissioned me what to do. A few people have rallied around me but the call needs to get out to the American people and the rest of the world. Our need for more troops is desperate if we are going to impact the world. Obviously the people who do not like me are not going to support this ministry so any support must come from people who are in agreement with me. We have seen through communication with the ministry that there are thousands of you out there and I call you my friends. Sadly, many of my friends have not seen the need to rally around me in prayer and financial support on a regular basis. This ministry is like an engine that does not have enough fuel and is sputtering and not able to do the work it was designed to do.

Everybody talked about how great Schaeffer was after he died and they did the same for Pastor David Wilkerson when he passed away but why didn’t the masses of Christians rally around these men when they were alive? Am I destined to have the same fate? I pray not. I would have you rally around me when I am still alive so we can do something for the Lord rather than have you send flowers to my funeral when I can’t do anything more on this earth. Remember, it is only the living that can do the work of God on this earth. Will you rally around this ministry so that we can have an impact in the world before the Antichrist comes?

Yours in Christ,
Pastor John S. Torell
July 2011
https://eaec.org/desk/07-10-2011.pdf

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