As America Goes, So Goes the World
What will America export in the next 10-20 years? The answer to that question falls largely on us.
By Michael Brown Published on October 28, 2016
https://stream.org/america-goes-goes-world/
...During these trips (all for ministry purposes), I've spoken thousands of times through translators, sometimes in exotic jungle areas where man-eating tigers have been on the loose, sometimes in massive stadiums, sometimes in majestic, old church buildings, sometimes in huts.
Who can describe the experience? The different sounds; the different cultures; the different tastes; the different clothes; the different languages; the different expressions — yet always the same love for the same God.
Last week, during the 17th annual missions conference for an organization I helped birth (called FIRE, an acronym for Fellowship for International Revival and Evangelism), I had a very intense experience during one of the night services....
...On this particular night, Friday, October 21, as we sang and worshiped together, I was overwhelmed with God's love for the nations, and I began to weep, my heart bursting with the desire to take the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection to the ends of the earth. (As a Jewish believer in Jesus, I'm always thinking about my own people as well.)
But then the thought hit me: Then why have and others I spent so much time and energy fighting the culture wars in America? Why not give all my time and energy to reaching the nations?
Immediately, I knew the answer: As America goes, so goes the world.
You see, our nation has had an incredible,
unprecedented impact on the world, both for good
and for evil, and if America has a complete moral and cultural collapse, the
ripple effect will be felt around the world.
In the same way, if we lose our religious liberties — we who are known for the themes of freedom and independence — it will have
a chilling effect all over the planet.
As we think of America's positive contributions over the decades, just ask yourself where Europe would be today without American intervention in World War II, or consider what international healthcare would look like or what international disaster relief would look like
if America wasn't here. The loss would be felt
deeply across the globe.
But there's a negative side to our influence too, and over the years, as I have traveled overseas, I have watched with grief as the
worst aspects of our culture — our narcissism; our carnality; our obsession with violent and sexual entertainment; our divorce culture; our LGBT activism — have spread through the nations....