A Tale of Two Movements

Early one Saturday morning not too long ago, I went to the daily city-wide Morning Prayer at a
local church. I noticed more cars than usual in the parking lot and more people than usual in the sanctuary. Several young people looked as if they had been there all night. They were watching
a live feed of the 24-hour solemn assembly of prayer, fasting, and calling on God that was taking
place at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The assembly, called TheCall: Detroit 11/11/11, began
at 3:00 pm on Friday, and would conclude at 3:00 pm Saturday. There wasn't Morning Prayer
that day, but I stayed and watched the live feed of TheCall: Detroit. That meant that the 24-hour
program of the assembly was broadcast live over the internet. Even though we were in Longview, Washington, we could take part to some extent in what was happening in Detroit at TheCall.

Later I searched the internet and found out more about TheCall Movement. For over ten years,
hundreds of thousands of Christians have been called to solemn assemblies for times of prayer,
fasting, repentance, and worship. Sponsors of TheCall have recognized that in view of the self-centeredness, idolatry, and sin in the land, there is a desperate need for God's mercy upon the
people. They hope in Christ that Christians across the nation would unite and experience anoth-
er great spiritual awakening. Lou Engle, the visionary co-founder of TheCall Movement, has or-
chestrated seventeen assemblies across the nation over the past decade. The first one took place
in the year 2000 when 400,000 people showed up for TheCall: Washington, DC. Between 10,000
and 35,000 people, and sometimes more, have been in attendance at the other assemblies. There
have been a variety of themes for the assemblies: a cry for justice, righteousness, and compas-
sion in our nation; a call to end abortion and to promote Pro-Life issues; prayer for revival and
the nation's turn to a biblical worldview; and a plea to God for righteous government leaders and
social justice in the USA.

Even though Morning Prayer was cancelled for the day, I continued to watch the solemn assem-
bly on live feed from Detroit. The cameras panned the crowd that had assembled. Since it was a
24-hour affair, people came and went. I read later that upwards to 40,000 people had attended the assembly. The cameras showed a diversity of people, but I was struck that teens and twenty-
somethings composed the majority. People were reading their Bibles, praying, and raising their
arms in worship. On stage there were different praise leaders and teams every two hours. The
singing was worshipful and peaceful. Also on stage were different groups of people leading the
assembly in prayer for Detroit and the world. People from all over the USA were there to pray
for the people of Detroit as they faced the challenges of economic collapse, racial tension, the
growing presence of Islam in the Detroit area, and the shedding of innocent blood on the streets
and in the womb. People prayed to God for forgiveness, revival, Christian unity, and social jus-
tice. The focus was on Christ and it was evident that the Holy Spirit was powerfully present
among them.

In contrast to the ten-year TheCall Movement (TCM) is the now two-month old Occupy Wall
Street Movement (OWS). I have a strong sense of Christian kinship with the former and no re-
spect for the latter. TCM abides in the love of the Father, stands with Christ crucified, and lives
in the power of the Holy Spirit. OWS stands for misguided  and misinformed people who bring
conflict, tension, envy, and disorder in whatever place they choose to occupy. They are a people
without God and without hope. The 30,000 or so people who took part in TheCall Detroit gath-
ered together to pray for the peace of the city and to see life in Christ manifested there. They
were united because they were focused on praising and worshipping Jesus Christ. Tens of thou-
sands of people in Detroit and across the USA were united together for the cause of Christ and
his kingdom. But only disunity and conflict have been manifested when thousands of OWS peo-
ple across the cities of the nation and the world have come together to occupy city centers. I pray
that Jesus would capture the allegiance of the Occupy Wall Street protesters, that they would re-
ceive life in all its fulness that only Jesus can give, and that they would commit themselves to
Christ and his kingdom. May it be so, Lord Jesus.

Blessings to you and yours,