Fly a kite on a completely windless day.
You’ll run back and forth, sweating and frustrated, dragging lifeless fabric behind you. Eventually you’ll come to the inescapable conclusion: We need wind.
That’s where many churches find themselves today—exhausted from activity, implementing the latest strategies, yet sensing something essential is missing.
That something is the wind of the Holy Spirit.
A Crisis of Dependence
The American church has never been more resourced. We’ve built bigger buildings, increased budgets, and embraced powerful communication tools. Yet too often engagement is shrinking, influence is waning, and spiritual impact is thinning. The disconnect should prompt some hard questions.
In our corporate culture it’s easy to assume the challenge is strategic, but what if it’s spiritual?
To be clear, I’m not saying those things are mutually exclusive, but what if we’ve become impressively efficient at church operation while increasingly deficient in dependence on the Spirit? Is it possible we’ve pursued a mastery of ministry mechanics but missed the miraculous. The early church didn’t grow through savvy systems, but supernatural strength. Their secret wasn’t better planning—it was deeper prayer and desperate reliance.
The Cost of Control
Church leaders today face immense pressure to produce measurable results. This pressure naturally drives us toward what we can control—better production, clearer communication, stronger leadership systems. These are good things, but they can quietly become cheap substitutes for what we cannot control but most desperately need—the supernatural presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts, we see a church that had none of today’s ministry advantages—no buildings, budgets, or broadcast platforms. What they had was the manifest power of God.
They grew because they caught the wind.
Today, many pastors feel depleted. We’ve tried everything—fresh programs, compelling vision, improved leadership—and yet the burden remains. Into our exhaustion, Jesus whispers the same invitation: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
This rest isn’t passive but receptive. It’s a posture that trades self-reliance for Spirit-dependance. It’s the difference between building something for God and allowing God to build something through us.
Cultural Headwinds Demand Supernatural Power
The cultural challenges facing today’s church are significant.
In this post-pandemic world, attendance patterns have shifted, volunteering has declined, and spiritual rhythms have eroded. Strategies that once worked before often fall flat—not because they they’re poorly executed, but perhaps because they lack the spiritual vitality only the Holy Spirit can provide.
Throughout Scripture, moments of disruption often precede movements of renewal. The early church was born in the wake of the ultimate disruption—the crucifixion of Jesus—followed by his unexpected departure. Into that confusion came Pentecost, with its wind and fire.
We’re not just facing cultural change; we’re navigating a digital deluge. Our congregations have instant access to the world’s best preachers, worship teams, and Bible teachers online. Yet in the midst of all this content, let’s recognize that real spiritual growth is not primarily informational; it’s relational and supernatural. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just inform, he transforms. He doesn’t merely educate, he empowers. In a time when churches can primarily become content creators and consumers, we must reawaken to the irreplaceable work of the Spirit.
Add to that rising polarization, fragmented attention spans, and growing skepticism of institutional religion—and we’re facing headwinds no program can overcome. These are not problems we can solve with better branding. They require a fresh move of God.
Human effort can never produce what only the Holy Spirit can.
The Paradox of Powerlessness
Here’s the beautiful paradox: greater spiritual impact begins by admitting our lack of power.
When we confess that our strategies aren’t enough, we create space for the sufficiency of the Spirit.
I’m reminded of Peter and John at the temple gate. They had no money to offer, no worldly leverage, but they had something better: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6).
Today’s church may or may not have plenty of silver and gold, but what we need is the kind of bold, Spirit-dependent power that comes only from beyond ourselves.
As we step forward in this pivotal cultural moment, our greatest need isn’t newer models. It’s deeper surrender. We don’t need to try harder; we need to yield more fully to the Spirit’s leadership. We need more than an effective plan. We need his presence.
You’re Invited
All of this is exactly what we’ll be focusing on at this year’s Spire Conference hosted at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky on September 23-25. It’s a timely and essential gathering for church leaders.
The wind of the Spirit is still blowing.
Let’s catch it together.
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