So you may have noticed Ridgeview updates have been lacking the past few days. I was just getting back in the swing of things after a winter bout with frust-pression, a made up word to describe how I’ve felt the past few months, both frustrated and depressed, which took it’s toll on my desire to cover the news. It may have been partly the nausea from political antics that weighed on me but the hardest part of it all was the spiritual toll it took. So when I was invited to a conference in Atlanta, Georgia I gladly accepted and flew down on Friday, January 31st, 2025 with the first night of conference that evening.
The reason I share this information is to, not only offer a reason for my absence, but to encourage anyone who is where I was. Drained of desire.
The Age…
The first thing I noticed about Elevate City Church is that I was very much odd gal out. The average age of the over 300 people attending the conference was between 18 and 35. A few 40 year old’s and I could count on two hands the number of “aged people” like myself in attendance. But what this group of young people had figured out, that is missed in most churches and organizations is their strategy of connecting every soul that enters the building with Jesus, people of like passion and purpose. The number of servants was unbelievable for such a young church. They began only five years ago, have moved more than once and then landed a building that was perfect to do what they needed done.
It’s not my goal to have a church like that of Elevate City. But it is my goal to have a passion and a mission like that of Elevate City.
I went in thinking, “Lord, please don’t let me be in the middle of a feel good faith without substance.” It’s what’s killing Christianity across the nation. If you’ve ever felt the Almighty Spirit of God, you know when it’s hype. If you know me, you know that music stirs my soul, but I don’t want it to give me a headache, and the music of those young whipper snappers in contemporary religion set me teeth on edge.
The music at Elevate was very contemporary… with one exception. Unlike most contemporary music churches, their music was solidly scriptural. It was what I imagined God meant when He said singing psalms. Every word within the lyrics of their music had a biblical foundation of truth. It was if we were singing the Bible… but with keyboards, pianos and drums. I began to pray, “Lord don’t let my mind form an opinion, but rather Your Spirit guide me with what was happening.” Within the first hour, the tears began to flow and throughout the weekend my soul was stirred with a desire to get back up on the mountain with God and more importantly serve as I’d been called.
The Hat…
I have to confess; it was hard for me to get past the caps on the heads of men in the sanctuary of God. Where I’m from, that is the utmost sign of disrespect for God’s house. So the fella with the hat garnered my attention. Until God spoke and said, stop looking at his hat, and look at his heart.
The singer exuded humility. Who was I to sit on a righteous throne and judge him. This wasn’t my church, but he was my little brother in Christ. And I could see and hear Christ as he sang so amazingly beautiful and all of Heaven came down. I wondered at that time if Jesus really cared about the hat.
The Altar…
You could barely get to the altar throughout the service, not just at the end of the sermon. The altar was filled with young people (and a few older ones) crying out to God for reasons unknown to me, but it was obvious they weren’t playing church. Most churches in America are dry and dusty because tears haven’t been there for a very, very long time.
We need wet altars again.
We need a burden for our families and friends again. And we need solid bible teachers that preach what thus saith the word and if it offends you, don’t expect God to change, but pray He changes you.
I left Saturday evening with one word on my mind. Ignite… go home and set the fire of the gospel ablaze in obedience to what the Spirit says. I’m headed back to Elevate City Church in a few hours. I’m staying in Atlanta til Tuesday. But I plan to be back on line, serving you, the readers of Ridgeview when I get some time after church today.
The Books…
The very first picture in this article is a preacher standing with a pile of books. They’re actually journals written by himself and his mother. Journals written on their daily time with God as they spent time in the secret place with God. It showed two very different generations but one like passion… having a relationship with Jesus. That stack of books was decades of tear stained pages in times of trial, failure and rejoicing.
Isaiah 45:3 KJV
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Those journals were evidence of a relationship with the Savior Jesus Christ and the difference we can make in the next generation by allowing them to see God answering us.
If you’re frustrated, depressed or just uncertain of why life isn’t all that great, I plan to encourage your soul. I plan to work harder for Ridgeview with articles and news of interest to let you know what’s going on, and give you points of Appalachian interest. But I really plan to work harder for Jesus. Blessings!
Shari Johnson, RVN Pubisher
