Randall Murphree
AFA Journal editor
January 2012 – Byron Paulus has been with Life Action Ministries since 1975, as executive director since 1989. Since its founding in 1971, LAM’s goal has been to see revival across North America, believing it would fuel the spread of the gospel to all nations. (See AFA Journal, 12/11). In 2011, God began to plant in Paulus’ heart a vision to help facilitate revival, and that vision is coming to fruition with the February launch of OneCry (www.onecry.com), a nationwide call to spiritual awakening.
“We are excited to be partnering with Life Action in OneCry,” said AFA vice president Buddy Smith. OneCry is not another program or another event; rather, it is an initiative with a goal of enlisting believers all over the nation to begin lifting their spiritual voices as one, crying out to God for brokenness and repentance among His people.
Paulus talked with AFA Journal about revival, OneCry and the role every believer can play.
AFA Journal: What are our greatest obstacles to revival?
Byron Paulus: Leonard Ravenhill said, “The self-satisfied don’t need to pray. The self-sufficient don’t want to pray. The self-righteous cannot pray.” Those three principles apply to revival: We are so self-satisfied that we don’t want revival, so self-sufficient that we think we don’t need revival, and so self-righteous that we can’t have revival.
AFAJ: Do you think there’s really a growing desire or recognition of need for revival?
BP: There is a deepening and broadening recognition of a need for something other than the status quo to bring real life and power into the church. That summarizes the premise of OneCry – people are realizing that revival is our only hope. There is no hope apart from revival.
I also believe there is a growing understanding that revival isn’t just a week of meetings. People are beginning to realize that revival begins with God’s people – as it says in Psalm 85:4: “Revive us again.” The greatest work of God begins with His people in the church.
Right now, people are looking for answers. They are listening more intently, and they are responding more deeply. We know the answer is Jesus, but we are also seeing everything we’ve tried is not producing fruit at the level that will rescue our nation.
AFAJ: Do you see a growing grasp and respect for repentance?
BP: Yes. We’re hearing the word repentance more. A.W. Tozer said revival will come when prayer is no longer used as a substitute for obedience – or repentance. We’re realizing that repentance precedes the presence of God.
The two-fold message of John the Baptist as prophesied in Malachi, is that repentance is returning the hearts of the fathers to their children and vice versa. I believe that same two-fold message is required for a fresh outpouring of God’s presence through His Spirit today.
I do see a deeper understanding, a greater openness to revival, and people are beginning to seek God for it.
AFAJ: How do you evaluate the cooperative efforts among churches and para-church groups?
BP: What is resonating in the hearts of God’s people and with some leaders is Psalm 133 – “How blessed and good it is for brethren to dwell together in unity; there I command my blessings.” It’s the only place in Scripture that I know of where it says that the blessing of God is commanded.
I believe whole-heartedly that what is deeply resonating is the fact that God’s people must come together; churches must come together; believers in communities must come together; para-church ministries; every segment of diverse groups denominationally, ethnically, generationally. We don’t have to give up our distinctives, just prioritize them.
AFAJ: How did God lead you into the concept for OneCry?
BP: I felt like it would be good for me to get away for a week to seek the Lord, just to give God opportunity to speak to my heart.
He revealed that I had been depending upon great staff, great leaders and incredible relationships to help forge the future. God convicted me that I needed to be totally 100% dependent upon Him, and actually it was sin that I wasn’t.
I had to confess pride. I had to confess my unwillingness to be fully surrendered. In the midst of all that, God just met with me, and I don’t mean this mystically. But God began to show me from Acts 2 the type of people He wants to use as instruments.
God said, “You’re looking for all the methods and all the techniques and all the strategies, but what you forget is that I’m concerned about using people.” And there are three types of people He used in Acts 2. One was the intercessors in the upper room. Second were ordinary people, voices who went and told the mighty acts of God. And third were leaders like Peter who stood up and brought context, clarity and community to what God was doing.
I began to see that it’s not going after new strategies. It’s really asking Him to touch the hearts of 50,000 intercessors; 5,000 voices who will proclaim and share the truth of revival as our only hope; and 500 leaders who will mobilize God’s people, leaders who will step in and say, “This isn’t just another nice idea. This is what I’m giving my life to until He comes in great power.”
AFAJ: What events do you anticipate as part of OneCry?
BP: We realize the last thing the church needs is another program. Therefore, there are multiple planned initiatives for each of those three segments.
The number one thing to note, when it’s launched in February, is that all the leaders associated with it are going to say, “Start with me.”
And we’re going to encourage leaders to get away individually or in groups, including the whole OneCry leadership team, for an extended period of time to fast and pray and say, “God, we cannot expect you to do anything in others’ lives or our nation that doesn’t begin with us. So God, would you do a fresh work of revival in our own hearts?”
AFAJ: How do you challenge the church regarding OneCry?
BP: I have been using five questions to do that:
1) What if these really are the last days?
2) What if America is not an exception to the judgment of God, that we really will reap what we have sown? We think it happened to other nations and countries, but it won’t happen to us.
3) What if the promises of revival are still true for today?
4) What if there really is such a thing as a latter rain? What if, as many theologians believe, there will be a great purification of the bride and a great ingathering of souls just prior to the return of Christ?
5) What if God has raised you up to be a part, an instrument in that latter rain?
Those questions take people to a biblical and practical reality of what’s before us today. They resonate with the urgent premise of OneCry that revival is our only hope. 
Pray
www.harvestprayer.com offers resources to help believers catch a passion and vision for deeper levels of prayer. 812-238-5504
Awaken
www.internationalawakening.org cites biblical promises that give encouragement and hope for revival. 630-653-8616
Refresh
www.refreshconference.org is designed for pastors, church leaders and key lay people to come together and beg God for revival. 229-883-1910 X1200
