500 years ago people protested against and then changed the common way of doing church. Shall we change it again?
–The Protestant Reformation took place 500 years ago. The very name of this movement proclaims that people rose up and protested against the familiar way of doing church and then they reformed it.
–However, because the changes made by the Reformation were incomplete and imperfect, if church needed changing 500 years ago, it still needs changing today.
–The Protestant Reformers didn’t follow through and finish their Reformation. For example, they taught “the priesthood of the believer” — that all Christ-followers are priests — and then they denied their own teachings by keeping church meetings under the complete control of a single clergyman and called everyone else a layman.
–As Western Civilization rapidly ditches its Christian foundations, the traditional way of doing church has lost much of its effectiveness to influence society. It is fast becoming a relic of history as more and more church attenders are quitting traditional church and being classified as “Dones.”. Perhaps it is time to transition church from religious meetings dominated by one man into interactive assemblies led by the Holy Spirit prompting ordinary Christ-followers to minister to one another.

“The Reformation did not directly touch the question of the true character of God’s church.” –John Nelson Darby

“God is decreeing to begin some new and great period in His church, even to the reforming of the Reformation itself.” –John Milton

“Reformation, like education, is a journey, not a destination.” –Mary Harris Jones

“The church is always trying to get other people to reform; it might not be a bad idea to reform itself.” –Mark Twain

“I’m looking for a second reformation. The first reformation of the church 500 years ago was about beliefs. This one is going to be about behavior.”  –Rick Warren

“What is a man born for but to be a reformer, a remaker of what has been made, a denouncer of lies, a restorer of truth and good?” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The Reformation in the sixteenth century narrowed reform. As soon as men began to call themselves names, all hope of further amendment (reformation) was lost.” –Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“The Reformation was certainly not a golden age. It was far from perfect, and in many ways it did not act consistently with the Bible’s teaching, although the Reformers were trying to make the Bible their standard not only in religion, but in all of life.” –Francis Schaeffer

“The best reformers the world has ever seen are those who commence on themselves.” –George Bernard Shaw