The church is always to be under the Word; she must be; we must keep her there. You must not assume that because the church started correctly, she will continue so. She did not do so in the New Testament times; she has not done so since. Without being constantly reformed by the Word the church becomes something very different.
The glory of the gospel is that when the church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it.
Preaching the Word is the primary task of the Church, the primary task of the leaders of the Church, the people who are set in this position of authority; and we must not allow anything to deflect us from this, however good the cause, however great the need.
We must re-grasp the idea of church membership as being the membership of the body of Christ and as the biggest honour which can come man's way in this world.
If you can explain what is happening in a church, apart from the sovereign act of God, it is not revival.