Silver Bullet

According to accounts from Gevaudan, France in the 18th century, a large, wolf-like creature - one that terrorized the countryside and picked off over a hundred residents over a period of three years - was at last dispatched by a well-placed, sanctified silver bullet fired by local farmer and hunter, Jean Chastel. Throughout various legends and traditions, silver bullets have taken on mythic status as effective tools against all manner of supernatural enemies, and - if you are a Lone Ranger fan - a calling card for justice, purity, and the value of life.

You're far more likely to hear the symbolic term used, not in the context of eliminating a supernatural threat, but in reference to a single action that solves all existing problems.

Think of all the "silver bullet" promises you have heard attached to the latest technology, consumable, or practice:

"One screen/program/upgrade does it all!"

"One pill/shot/supplement/treatment will help you lose weight/reverse aging/gain muscle/sharpen focus!"

"One easy, quick, daily routine unlocks happiness/peace/well-being/confidence!"

Organizations fall to the temptation as well when they assume that merely adopting a new leader, a revised policy, or a fresh mission will bring the widespread, sweeping, and lasting change desired.  

I was reminded of this type of "silver bullet" recently. At the end of a conference focused on the evangelistic efforts of the church, during some parting conversations, a ministry leader from the area asked me, "How are things at your church?"

"They are moving along. Slowly, but things are moving," I replied.

He sighed and gave a tiny, forced smile. "They can be a hard people. Glad things are moving," he said.

I have heard similar comments over the last three and a half years I have been pastoring the church. We have seen some great changes take place, and we have seen God moving, yet still there remain some little pockets of fallow, resistant, rocky soil. But God's Word continues to plow deeper with every pass.

My friend continued, "Maybe that is why you were sent there. Maybe that's it: precisely because they are tough. God knew."

His expression softened, and he lowered his voice. "Pastor, if you could snap your fingers and have one thing changed instantly throughout the church you lead, what would it be? If in one moment, one single thing was completely different, and you got to say exactly that change would be - anything you wanted, anything at all - what would you say?"

A long list of things I have prayed for at times passed through my mind in an instant.

I have prayed for God to send revival in a way so that he alone received all the credit.

I have prayed that our people would become true people of prayer, who hunger for biblical truth, and who are passionate about reaching those far from the kingdom of God.

At times, I have prayed that God, in his grace, would send explosive growth through the salvation of many, so much so that we could not fit the new believers in our current location.

And I have prayed that God would alter the course of history by raising up spiritual leaders from our church…and not just history, but all eternity.

By comparison, some moments seem much simpler and more mundane in the asking. Prayers that we will catch up on any delayed facility maintenance, see ministries be aligned with our common mission and vision, and that people would just love one another.

If you were to ask most congregations the same question that the leader asked me, you would hear some of the same silver bullets that have been voiced at every church I have served, and likely in your church, as well as in churches through the ages.

"All we need to do is…"

" …Be more 'this' and less of 'that.'"

"…Preach more against the great evil in the world."

“…Change the music to suit everyone's taste."

"…Try to 'get back' to 'how things were' 10, 20, or even 40 years ago."

"…Be much more political-party oriented, more patriotic, and promote 'American' values."

"…Have more fun events for people to attend."

Given the choices of all the things I have prayed for and all the suggested points of focus offered by others through the years, there are countless things I could have said in answering my friend who asked the question, "Pastor, if you could snap your fingers and have one thing changed instantly throughout the church you lead, what would it be?"

There was no hesitation.

It did not require even a moment of consideration for what that single thing would be.

It is the one thing I have prayed for more than anything else.

I answered his question.

"That through the Word of God and the Spirit of God, the church would have a clear, powerful, and unmistakable, God-given and God-sustained revelation of his complete and perfect holiness. That's it: that everyone would see him as the holy God that he is. If that happened, the self-imposed limits would vanish, lesser expectations, opinions, and preferences would fade away, worship would be overwhelming, and evangelism would be taken as a given. Everyone would want others to know this God of glory. That is what I would change if I could ask for one thing."

I continued, "I believe we have a number of people in churches today who believe they are exalting God's holiness. But the way they express that is practiced is through legalism and traditionalism or by relying on spectacle and systems. The value is placed on being sanitized rather than being sanctified. The statement of 'Avoid these things' is more important than 'Pursue these things.' Or in some cases the expectation is to hear God say, 'Well done, good and innovative and creative ministry entrepreneur.' Humble reliance upon a holy God takes backseat or is left behind altogether. But if everyone got a good look of the holiness of God…that would make all the difference in the world."

My friend blinked. His eyes misted a little. He whispered, "That is what every church needs. That's what we all need."

The clear, powerful, and unmistakable, God-given and God-sustained revelation of his utter and perfect holiness.

It's not a silver bullet, but it is the closest thing I know.

Exodus 15:11 “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?"  

Isaiah 6:1-7 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."

Revelation 4:2-8 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite."