Secret Crowds by Brady

The word explosion carries with it an idea of something loud and boisterous. The actual definition of explosion is “a violent expansion or bursting with noise.” If something explodes and you are near it, you cannot help but be affected by it. If a Dr. Pepper explodes and you are near, you can bet that things are getting sticky quickly. Or like one of my favorite episodes on Lost, a character named Arzt is carrying nitro glycerin with a few of the other main characters and it explodes unexpectedly. As they walk on after losing another person on the island, one of the characters is told that he has “a piece of Arzt” on him. This is the idea that goes along with the word explosion.

Many sociologists would agree that Christianity exploded in its formative and early years faster than anything that can be described as “normal” by our modern standards. What started out as a small group of people who followed Jesus around grew into the dominant religion in the Roman Empire by 325 AD. Before this date, Christianity was a movement driven by an underground agenda with subversive elements going against the Roman Imperial culture. When Constantine became the “first Christian Roman Emperor,” the movement was already being transformed into dominant status as opposed to being the constant underdog. Think, for the majority of Christianity’s first 300 years, our forefathers and foremothers underwent persecution and faced opposition by culture at large. Even though Christianity was exploding during these first 300 years, it was a quiet explosion.

Today in our culture, there is no such thing as Christianity being quiet. I know most people wish some Christians would do that very thing: be quiet. And maybe we should take a hint from our culture and do what they are begging us to do, return to our roots. I am not attempting to romanticize the early church because I know things were extremely difficult for the first believers in Christ. We now have 2000 years of doctrine, tradition, history, and examples to follow, all which we should take advantage of. What I am suggesting is that the time is coming where Christians will be forced out of certain arenas we have become accustomed of dominating. Maybe this will not happen tomorrow, but the world at large is becoming progressively “Anti-Christian” as we speak. As this happens, it is not something to fear, but to embrace.

I believe the Good News of Jesus is exploding all over the globe as we speak. I believe it is exploding in people’s hearts as you read this. If your faith is dry and your passion is mild, I do not think it is because God is stale or that Christ is not alive. I would tend to feel that it may have more to do with your personal life or situation rather than God. God is living, active, and fully engaged in His world. His message, brought through Jesus, cannot help but explode on a daily basis. So, if you are waking up feeling dispassionate or dreading life, I would say you need to experience the explosion of Good News afresh once again in your life. I would personally move myself and do whatever it takes to be where God is moving. This does not mean life will always be easy, fun, or blessed. You will not always feel close to God. There is not one single aspect of life where we remain fully engaged 100% of the time. But, when you do have a moment that wakens you to the fact that you need to engage more, I suggest you do it.

There is a new song on Angels & Airwaves’ I-Empire CD called “Secret Crowds.” The lyrics to the song correspond beautifully with the message of the Gospel and where I believe God is taking His church in the coming years. This song uses a phrase that says “to spread love like violence.” It goes on to say we need to “watch our words spread hope like fire,” and then “secret crowds rise up and gather, hear your voices sing back louder.” The whole idea is that violence is naturally reactive. If someone hits you, you want to hit back. Love also demands a response. If you spread love violently, then people must react. Look at Jesus and his life. His whole life was marked with love, and he is actually the one that coined the idea of not hitting back, but returning love with hate (see Luke 6:29 or Matthew 5:39).

A new group of people who follow Jesus are rising up, and this movement is yet again a subversive one. It is rebelling against culture, violence, oversaturation of sexuality, poverty, oppression, and dead religion. Secret crowds are rising up and gathering and these voices are beginning to sing back louder. Do not be mistaken though, this singing can only be heard if you have the ears to hear it. This explosion is silent, but just like every other explosion in the world, people around it cannot help but be affected by it. Will you be the next one to spread love like violence?