build the altar
"God calls us to an altar, not a platform."
J.D. Greer
Then Elijah said to all the people,
"Come here to me."
They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD,
which had been torn down.
1 Kings 18:30
This past weekend was the Forming Men Conference in Paragould, Arkansas.
I had the time of my life.
There is nothing like hearing 700 men belt out worship songs at the top of their lungs and seeing that potent kingdom mixture of repentance, brotherhood, and joy.
We met at Central Baptist Church’s new building, which they had only completed two weeks before. It’s a beautiful building with all the things you would expect from new construction: incredible media, lobby space for days, and parking for half the trucks in Greene County.
I have definitely noticed how church buildings have become more modern over the years. They can look more like movie theaters than sanctuaries, more like community centers than cathedrals.
But something stood out to me about Central Baptist's new building.
The Altar.
Amid the polished concrete floors, state-of-the-art stage, and video walls was an old-school Baptist altar. You can easily overlook this when you walk in, but you can’t miss it when the presence of God comes down.
Blake Ligon, the pastor, told me, "We wanted to build a place where men could encounter God."
As simple as it sounds, that vision is rarer than you think. There are so few places built for people to encounter God today.
I believe God is calling a generation of men to do something about that.
Encountering God is at the heart of the scriptures. Altars were places where that could happen.
Altars were places where people encountered God
They were built as places to seek God or memorials of encounters with Him.
They were places of sacrifice
Fire never fell on an empty altar; something was always offered to God.
Altars were places of commitment
It was the place where a man, his family, and the community came to give themselves in surrender to God.
Places of Memory
They were places where you could look back and remember the goodness of God in your life.
We need to repair the altars that have fallen down in the modern world.
Much of what has happened in modern society amounts to tearing down where men could meet God and offer themselves to Him.
In its place, secular culture has built altars for its own gods. Altars to mammon, sexuality, pleasure, and self.
Men go to these secular altars to encounter these idols and offer themselves to them. This has led to heartache, dysfunction, and decline. The landscape of the lives of so many men is filled with altars to other gods. Men sacrifice their integrity, families, time, and energy on broken altars that do not satisfy.
God is calling a generation of men to tear these down and repair the altars to the one true God. I have tried to do this in my life in New York.
Over these last 20 years, I have built altars all over New York City.
In a small park on 43rd between 9th and 10th Ave, I built an altar where I have prayed for revival for over 19 years.
Under a bridge in Hells Kitchen, on 41st and 9th Ave, God came down in power and encouraged me from Romans 1:13. I have an altar of faith there.
I have an altar on 48th St. in Clinton Community Garden, where I met with God during the pandemic, and He filled me with the power to endure.
I have an altar on 105th and Broadway, where I sought God when I first moved to the city.
I have one at 50th and Broadway in Times Square, where I have prayed Psalm 67 over the city for years.
I have one in the middle of the George Washington Bridge, where God turned my heart from being a tutor into a father.
Where are the altars in your life?
All men have altars.
All men sacrifice something to the god they worship, be it Jesus, mammon, lust, or self.
Whatever you build, make sure you build an altar into it.
No matter how modern or sophisticated, include a sacred space for God.
A space for encounter, sacrifice, commitment, and memory.
Henry Ward Beecher said, "There ought to be such an atmosphere in every Christian church that a man going there and sitting two hours should take the contagion of heaven, and carry home a fire to kindle the altar whence he came."
Here is a photo of men at the altar:
I am filled with faith and hope, knowing that 700 men are carrying coals from that flame to the altar of their hearts, homes, communities, and churches.
Men, get to the altar and tend to the flame. As William Booth reminds us,
"The tendency of fire is to go out; watch the fire on the altar of your heart. Anyone who has tended a fireplace fire knows that it needs to be stirred up occasionally."
Rebuild your altars. Stir the coals of encounter, sacrifice, commitment, and memory.
Repair the altar; fire is waiting to fall.
I'll join you in rebuilding and responding this week.
Cheers.
Jon.
