If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that one of the main themes is “everyone” engaged – not just Christian professionals. So I was thrilled to read an excellent editorial in a (secular) publication – The Wall Street Journal – by layman Tony Dungy, Hall of Fame professional football coach and now broadcaster. Tony’s co-author, Benjamin Watson, is director of NFL Programs for Pro Athletes Outreach. Together they host a program called “Football Sunday: A Sports Spectrum Production.”

The headline in the Wall Street Journal was a non-so-subtle:

A Call for Christian Revival in 2021: If you find your faith is strained by the pandemic, these practices can help.

Here’s the depressing opening:

Last year was one of the weariest we can remember. It brought school conducted behind screens, fewer trips to restaurants, and no escapes to the ballgame. The weekly routine of sitting in a church pew on Sunday morning is gone for many. How can we not be weary?

Having both worked in the National Football League for decades, we are creatures of routine. Our habits and the structure they create provide us with steadiness, but this went out the window in 2020. We would handle this better if we knew when the pandemic will end, but we do not know what tomorrow holds.

Our weariness goes far beyond schedule changes. The challenges drained our collective spirit: violence in American cities; a seemingly never-ending divisive election cycle; apparent helplessness in the face of the virus. Americans’ trust in government, media and even the church continued to diminish. This heightened our anger and left us searching for answers.

The racial injustice and division in this country weighs heavily on us too. We acknowledge the progress made, but we are not blind to the long road ahead. We have been buoyed by so many who have become willing to have difficult discussions, learn about this country’s past and present, and acknowledge that all of us need to listen more than we talk. From A Call for Christian Revival in 2021 by Tony Dungy and Benjamin Watson, Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2021.

They go on to list five practices, with which I whole-heartedly agree. My comments, if any, will be bracketed [ ].

• Read the entire Bible. This is a blessing—and doing it in a year takes only about 15 minutes a day. [Here is the plan I am following this year.]
• Pray. Pray for our pastors, teachers, politicians, family and friends.
• Repent. Repentance is a word American culture has lost sight of. It means to turn away from the direction one has been headed. Repentance applies not only to salvation but to everyday life. If 2020 has exposed worry, jealousy, racism, pride, greed or anger in our hearts, we must repent. [Repentance was included in my January 2 blog, under prayers for our country, and I may have more to say about that tomorrow in light of current events.]
• Return to our home churches. The relationships built in our local churches are critical for our personal growth—and the church’s growth as a whole.
• Give tithes and offerings. The Bible requires Christians to give to the church. We can debate whether tithing is Old Covenant or New Covenant, but we all know God calls us to give—and to give generously.

These (laymen!) conclude:

We don’t know what the future holds, but God called us to follow him. It’s long past time for a Christian revival in this country, and following the steps above is a call to action that will change this country in unimaginable ways. – Tony Dungy and Benjamin Watson, WSJ, January 7, 2021

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Matthew 7.24, ESV)

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2.1, 2, ESV)

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7.14, ESV)

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3.13, NIV)

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9.6, 7, NIV)