A quick history lesson: On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany and sparked what eventually became known as the Protestant Reformation. Lesson over.

Nearly half a century later, that action still impacts the way that Christians live whether you are Protestant or Catholic. It transformed the way the church operated and changed the way that followers of Christ look at what they believe. It was a monumental event. But the Protestant Reformation was not the end. In fact, early reformation churches did not refer to themselves as “reformed” but as “reforming”; they recognized that it was an ongoing process.

There is a sense that ongoing process is kicking into a new gear. I read a column by Rick Warren (yeah, The Purpose Driven Life guy) titled “Five Signs of the Second Reformation”. In this article Warren writes:

“Now, 500 years later, I believe God is starting a second reformation - a reformation of behavior that will be as revolutionary as Luther’s reformation of belief. Most of us know what we believe; the problem is we’re not doing what we believe. God calls us to be “doers of the Word,” and if we are faithful, the results will bring global glory to God. The coming worldwide reformation will be led by everyday Christians...”

Or as I heard recently stated by a speaker in Nashville: “The first reformation was about creeds, this reformation is about deeds. The first reformation was about what we believe, this reformation is about what we’re going to do.”

Now I can understand some skepticism. This is pretty big talk and human nature often shows us making grand statements about what God is going to do, but then we don’t back it up. So I don’t blame you if you look at this idea about a second reformation with suspicion.

But...

We are supposed to live out our faith. We are supposed to be “doers of the Word”. And if we were honest with ourselves, I think we would all say that we, as followers of Christ, need to be doing more to bring about a better tomorrow. Those are the pieces for this second reformation.

“But I’m just an ordinary guy/girl/teenager/college student/grown-up/homo sapien,” you might say. So were the disciples. So was Martin Luther. So was every Christian that has walked the face of this planet. God can use each and every one of us; we just have to make ourselves available.

Most of us know John 3:16; it is about what we believe. Perhaps we need to familiarize ourselves with 1 John 3:16 and the verses that follow; they are about what we do:

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

One does not go out and say, “I’m going to start a reformation.” That’s rather arrogant. Instead, we are supposed to simply do what Jesus commanded us; love one another. We need to open our eyes to what is going around in the world and in our own backyard. There are great needs and we need to go meet them: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If each of us goes about doing that then a reformation will come.

I think there are many in today’s generation that are not content with just going through the motions of church. They want to put their faith into action. They want to go out into the world to serve the poor. Bring hope to the hopeless. The world is in need. God can meet those needs. And He has called us to be His representatives here.

Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. It may not seem like much. But it could make a world of difference and difference in this world.