Called to Stay by Caleb Breakey

We've seen the statistics. The Millennials are leaving the church. Caleb wants them to stay. He wants them to infiltrate the church and bring it to a greater commitment to Jesus.

This requires courage, commitment, and a whole lot more. For example, he writes, “Do not shy away from speaking directly to the evils that sneak into your church. Openly speak against lukewarmness, head knowledge, pharisaical living, Christian snobbery, spiritual laziness, pride, conditional love, borrowed faith, consumerism, judgmentalism, cynicism, and grieving the Holy Spirit.” (45) Whew! I'm overwhelmed just reading that list. He also adds that it is to be done “Quietly, gradually.” (56) That is quite an assignment.

He gives an extensive plan for infiltrating your church. I was a bit overwhelmed with all the suggestions. I think you might want to pick a couple of the ideas and do them well. If you form a group, more of the suggestions could be accomplished.

He also gives a number of requirements to infiltrate. Here are some: You cannot be mediocre in prayer. You must let your heart be broken where needed. You must live through the power of the Holy Spirit. You must become childlike. You must be intentional and intuitive. You need deep trust in yourself.

He admits that infiltrating is not for everyone. He has great sections on evaluating your church and deciding when to leave.

This book overwhelmed me. I don't think any one person can do what Caleb desires. If you really feel called to stay at your church and work to make it what God intended, you may want to gather others around you and make it a group effort. And be prepared for hurt. Caleb mentions hurt, almost in passing, on the last two pages of his book. I wish he would have given it more consideration because it is going to happen.

This is how I suggest this book be used. If you feel called to stay in your church and infiltrate, find some others with a like mind and go through this book together. There are no discussion questions in the book but there are additional resources you can download at www.calledtostay.com..

Caleb Breakey is a former journalist and a frequent conference speaker. He and his wife live in Washington State.

Harvest House Publishers, 190 pages.