Mario Murillo, who was powerfully used in the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and speaks to millions via his blog, in-person revival meetings and national television programs, says our generation needs Pattons to arise—referring to General George Patton, a hero of World War II.
“Patton’s fundamental approach to war in the natural is the precise tactic for war that we need now,” Murillo says. “For example, he didn’t want his men digging foxholes. He was about advancing, moving forward, taking the offensive to the enemy.”
Patton didn’t care about public opinion because, as he said, “I’ve got a war to win.”
“Imagine if that spirit got on preachers today,” Murillo says. “If they were not as concerned about public relations as they are about obeying God and preaching sermons that please the Holy Spirit, even when they may offend other people.”
Murillo labels this spirit “anointed resistance.” And he knows a thing or two about it, having received criticism in recent days for his outspokenness on the current “woke” culture. Some Christians want to know why he doesn’t just preach against sin or try to get drug addicts free as he’s done for 50 years since he directed Resurrection City in Berkeley, California, back in the hippie era.
“When I used to preach against drugs, everybody loved me,” Murillo says. “And when I preached against gang violence, everybody loved me. But when socialism became the worst drug in the ghetto, and the Democratic Party became the most dangerous gang in the ghetto, it was a natural evolution to start talking about those things.”
The church, and its leaders, are in a time of what he dubs “Ten times change,” meaning a change exponentially larger than most. He likens it to when a big-box store moves into town, throwing every local hardware store into instant crisis. The situation forces small business owners to rethink their future and repurpose themselves for survival and success.
“When wokeness struck America, we didn’t realize all the subterranean tentacles that it had in so many institutions,” Murillo says.
Believers will only weather and thrive in this sudden—or sudden-feeling—change if they allow God to retool them and their message for the times we live in.
“We can’t be afraid of how different we’re going to look if we obey God in a woke and cancel culture, because His approach and the message to this culture are going to be different,” Murillo said. “There are fresh words that God wants to use and fresh tactics He wants to anoint.”
For much more from Mario Murillo on our woke culture and how Christians must stand up against it, listen to this entire episode of the Strang Report at this link. Be sure to subscribe to the Strang Report on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform for more words that will inspire and challenge you in the power of the Holy Spirit. {eoa}
Stephen Strang 
