I like to think of myself as a fairly logical person, so when I witness things that don’t seem to line up, I always find it strange. As followers of Jesus, the one thing that differentiates us from every other belief system isn’t dealing with sin. Lots of belief systems have either ways to deal with sin, don’t believe in sin, or value darkness as part of a balanced duality. The singular notable difference between our beliefs and that of others is resurrection in the here-and-now, so I find there to be cognitive dissonance when raising the dead is not an automatic go-to for believers when people die.

Think about it–even atheists who may not have a particular belief about afterlife will immediately attempt CPR on someone who has just died in an attempt to bring them back. As a nurse, I have been rigorously trained in exactly what to do when someone suddenly dies, and I received this training for one reason and one reason only: to bring them back. And let’s face it–if restarting a dead person’s heart and breathing isn’t a form of resurrection, I don’t know what is because at the point their heart stops, they’re dead. If we do nothing, they will never live again, yet if we do something they may come back.

Medical professionals all across the WORLD follow this as a natural part of their daily work whether EMS, Doctors, Nurses, or other support staff. Many companies also pay to have their employees trained in CPR in case someone dies. So why not the church? Why is it an abnormal thing to teach and train people to raise the dead? Why is it unusual when someone wants to spend a few days praying for the dead to return to life instead of rushing to plan a funeral? Honestly, this boggles my mind.

I suggest the Church needs a new way of doing things. As I see it, we are currently far behind even just modern technology in our ability (or lack thereof) to deal with death, and for those who are empowered by the Creator God of the entire universe this simply shouldn’t be so. How do we correct this then? I suggest it starts by recognizing that we are doing something wrong. This isn’t a shame and blame sort of thing, but we need to understand that we truly don’t grasp God’s plans for our lives. When we acknowledge we are falling short in this area, then we can seek a solution. What is the best solution? Learn about abundant life. Learn about God’s power to raise the dead. Learn about the will of God to destroy the power of death and destruction.

I have included a series of resources below to help you shift your thinking and learn to raise the dead. The Raise the Dead Initiative is a project I started to help grow the Body in this area, and I am in the process of developing teaching curriculum to train believers to pray for and raise the dead. Additionally, Tyler Johnson is an awesome man of God and good friend who regularly teaches Resurrection Schools to help transform our understanding on the subject of resurrection life. He has Dead Raising Teams around the world who are ready to mobilize in their area to release the abundant life of Jesus Christ. If you want to grow quickly in this area, I highly recommend five things:

1. Sign up for our Raise the Dead Initiative mailing list here to receive updates including my upcoming book Faith To Raise The Dead.

2. Join the RDI on Facebook here:  Raise the Dead Initiative Group

2. Look at how you can host or attend a Resurrection School in your area. Contact Tyler Johnson via his website at http://www.oneglance.org/ to arrange the event.

3. Buy Tyler’s books How to Raise the Dead and The Dead Are Raised, and Father Hebert’s book Saints Who Raised The Dead

4. Watch/listen to David Hogan’s YouTube Series on the subject of Raising the Dead:  Session 1  Session 2  Session 3  Session 4

5. Look for and actively engage opportunities to raise the dead in your area.