Whereas the Protestant Reformation brought a reform in theology, it, for the most part, failed to affect the practices of the Church, or how we do church. This New Apostolic Reformation promises to be more like a revolution in its passion to affect how the Church functions, both in its life and mission. Thus, effectively narrowing the gap between orthodoxy (what we believe) and orthopraxy (how we live or how we act).

All of this transpires in what many prophetic voices are calling the "Third Day Church." This means first taking a look at the basic principles and processes of the third day in life and learning, and then seeing the potential for radical Church as this prophetic "Third Day Church" emerges.

First, lets look hard at the biblical principles and life processes of the "third day." On the third day Jonah was released from the "belly of the fish." On the third day Jesus was released from the "belly of the earth." On the third day God spoke the seed principle of regeneration. On the third day Abraham saw afar off. On the third day Joshua led the people of Israel across the Jordan to the Promised Land. On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and went before the King. And on the third day Jesus did His first miracle at the wedding at Cana of Galilee.

Day One, Day Two, Day Three

Now, aside from the plethora of stories mentioned about the "third day" in God’s Word, the principles surrounding it seem all too clear in both Scripture and in life. Basically, DAY ONE is where you are and requires a leaving. DAY TWO is the process of cleaving or holding on to the promises of God yet unfulfilled. Then of course DAY THREE becomes the culmination, the fulfillment, the victory, and the receiving.

Day one is when you pray, when you cry out, when you make your requests and desires known. When you face your frustrations with the status quo and step off the bank of familiarity into the vast sea of the unknown moving towards day three.

Day one and day three, then have sandwiched in between them, day two. Day two is about waiting, about hoping, about patiently standing for an answer not yet received.

Third Day Church

So what do we mean when we refer to the THIRD DAY CHURCH? Well, aside from the fact that we are in the third millennium, we are speaking prophetically as to how we are being offered many new and innovative ways of doing church. Some of these ways seem new in the sense of being old, yet untried. Others represent radical, fresh, even currently unconsidered ways to do and be the church.

Most of these new ways have to do with how we meet, or how we are when we are together, and/or what we do when we gather. Others, in how we see our mission and purpose as a Church both locally and regionally.

For most church leaders to even consider something new and innovative, to even think of leaving the first day, the tried forms, the current habits, and the present traditions or ways of being, assumes that there is already enough internal and external dissatisfaction brewing. Especially, to lure someone towards the risking of the tried and true and the jumping off of the safe to the deep waters of the "having never been here before." For most, the mere fear of leaving the dock of security is torment enough to keep many of us in the first day. The third day is not merely an adjusted or adapted or retrofitted first day. It means an impassioned willingness to leave the familiar, the known, and the seen, going for the unfamiliar, the unknown and the unseen....and like Abraham not looking back.

It requires a genuine leap of faith, losing site of the land on your way to a new destination. And, it is also the knowledge that in that notorious middle, during that second day, in that place of transition between what one has left and what is to come one finds that everything gets shaken, everything gets tested.

The thought of the pain, the fog, and the disequilibrium of the second day, keeps so many of us stuck in the first day. Stuck as it were, in doing things the same way week after week, not wanting to rock the boat, not wanting to be misunderstood or labeled a misfit or maverick or a lose cannon. Not ever wanting to appear as though we don’t know what we are doing or where we are going.

The problem is, that in our heart of hearts, we have known all along that there was something more, something deeper, something beyond what our comfort zones have allowed us to experience or touch. And ultimately, to not take that risk, to not take that leap of faith, means to die, to eventually become so stale, and so brittle that the old wineskin plugs up, no longer receiving, no longer releasing.

You will not get to the THIRD DAY unless you step out of the FIRST DAY and are willing to endure the SECOND DAY.

I know that what I am saying so far could be coming across as some kind of philosophical diatribe, if it were not for the fact that in your heart at least some degree of divine dissatisfaction has been percolating or brewing for quite some time. For many, it means giving yourself the luxury to begin to think about the new, the innovative, and yet untried.

Time For Experimentation

Most experimentation begins in the head, long before it is ever discussed let alone implemented. It means giving yourself permission to daydream about things like, how the worship service could flow a bit differently, how more people could be involved in the actual meeting, or how the structure or infrastructure of the church could be modified for optimum result. Or even to look at the prototype of your own life as you risk beginning a fresh metamorphosis into your own personal "third day."

Wherever it starts, it does require some response. Like the age-old proverb, "Three frogs sat on a log, all three decided to jump...so how many were left?" And of course the answer is all three. They decided, but they didn’t jump.

Go ahead, think outside your normal grid, color outside the lines and pray outside of your normal posture. Yes, it is dangerous, but it won’t kill you, and in fact, you might just like it!