A Week Later and I'm Still Just Messed Up

Last week a friend of mine shared a video with me of the underground churches in China. As I watched that video that day something happened inside of me. I began to tear up... and then sob and then I was bawling my eyes out and literally shaking as I was so broken before the Lord. As I viewed the absolute passion and hunger of the people in China as they pursued the Lord I became convicted over my own walk with Christ. I saw people who even though they know they could be imprisoned or even put to death for worshipping Jesus, got up and gathered at 4:30 in the morning to worship before going to work. And they do this every day, seven days a week. There are days where they gather (again, in hiding) and will stand and listen to preaching and teaching for 6-10 hours at a time. In the video, there were thousands who met in these gatherings. And I sat here an thought how 1/3 to 1/2 of my church is absent every Sunday. Some of my people who consider themselves to be "regular" attending members average 1 to 2 Sundays per month that they attend. At 2 hours per week, that means they were in worship for 48 hours last year. So, living in a land where we have the absolute freedom to worship as we choose they attend less per year than these people in China attend in ONE WEEK. And we wonder why they have thousands attendance and regularly report miracles in their midst... and we are struggling to keep the doors open due to low finances in our church. I've found myself praying passionately and asking God to do whatever it takes to awaken the American church. If it takes persecution, then send us persecution. If it takes a loss of freedom, then take our freedoms. I just want to see this kind of passion and joy awakened in the American church which is by and large, soundly asleep.