13 Renewal in the Home Crawford W. Loritts, Jr.
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All roads lead back to somebody’s house! The pivotal issues in life
and ministry ultimately have to do with the health and wholeness of
the family. I sometimes think that in our pursuit of insights that are
tangible, transferable, and practical we forget this perspective.
What comes out of our homes should be the product of broken-
ness and utter dependence on God. One of my concerns these days is
a pervasive tendency to think that the right system, the right insight,
or the right “stuff ” will produce spiritual change. Conferences, books,
and manuals on our shelves are not the same thing as the move of the
Spirit of God in our households.
God used a recent visit to my boyhood hometown to push the
rewind button in my soul and remind me of my spiritual roots. I had
not been back there in years. I was especially moved when I visited the
small college nearby. I had only spent a year there but God did a deep,
wonderful work in my heart.
As I pulled up to the campus and crossed over the bridge, I saw a
sight that triggered a ton of memories. I spotted the little chapel where
at the age of 17 I would go to pray at lunchtime and sometimes
between classes.
Little did I realize then how those prayers would serve as the fuel
for what God has done through these years in my life and ministry and
family. I prayed that one day God would use me in a great way, that
He would allow me to introduce many people to Christ. I prayed that