Prayer Without Perspiration Leads to Paralysis

In our last blog post we began to explore the process of renewal through the lens of the story of Nehemiah.  It is a story that continues to remind me as leader of renewal that this journey requires courage, wisdom, God’s favor, and an enormous amount of prayer.

Andy Stanley writes, “Visions are born in the soul of a man or woman who is consumed with the tension between what is and what could be.”  It is out of this tension that God-sized visions are born.  This was certainly the case for Nehemiah. He received word about the poor condition of the city of Jerusalem and the burden of that drove him to his knees in prayer to the God of the city.

In the midst of this season of prayer Nehemiah gets a glimpse of what could be and a God-given vision is born.  We know it’s God-given because in Nehemiah 2:12 he reveals to us that these plans are “…what God had put in my heart.”  How does Nehemiah respond to this God-given vision?  He responds with more prayer. 

Nehemiah realized that this was no small task that God was calling him to.  In fact, from a human perspective it seemed impossible.  And from where you are standing, what God has called you to may seem impossible as well.  But let me tell you something – a God-given vision will always be bigger than we can accomplish on our own and the magnitude of that vision should always drive us back to our knees. 

As your read through the story of Nehemiah you are going to find that prayer played a critical role at every point.  But one thing you may not notice as readily is that these prayers were always followed by action.

Here is what I have come to realize.  Many of our churches in need of renewal aren’t lacking in the area of prayer.  They pray a lot!  They are lacking in the area of action, and prayer without perspiration leads to paralysis.  At some point you have to get up from your praying and actually DO what God has called you to do.  Otherwise, the church becomes paralyzed and renewal is an impossibility.

So, here is the question.  How can we mobilize our congregations from the posture of prayer to the place of action?

Please leave your comments!



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Burden Gives Birth to Vision

After twelve years of ministry in the same church I have been doing a lot of reflecting on the process of renewal and the ongoing work of building a vibrant church.  The journey has been filled with some overwhelming challenges that taught me to lean deeply into my Creator for wisdom, strength, and assurance.  It has also been filled with amazing times of joy and fulfillment as we have watched God transform many lives and the church he chose to partner with in that transformation.  It has been an incredible journey thus far.

I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days with a sister church in a neighboring community to share with them a few of the lessons we have learned on this journey of renewal.  Over the next few weeks I want to share with you some of the principles I have found in God's word about renewal that I believe have proven themselves time and time again along our journey and in many other places that have experienced vibrant renewal.

Principle #1: Burden Gives Birth to Vision

One of the books I return to often when teaching and preaching on vibrant church renewal is the book of Nehemiah.  There are so many ways that the process God took his people through mirrors what we have experienced, and as we read in Nehemiah 1:4, it all begins with a burden for the city of Jerusalem and the people living there.  When Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins it says, "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven."  Nehemiah is overwhelmed with a heavy burden for all of Jerusalem.

One of the things I find so interesting about Nehemiah is that at this point he had never been to Jerusalem.  Nehemiah was born in captivity following the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar around 587 B.C. He had grown up in Babylon and it begs the question, if Nehemiah had never been to Jerusalem then why would he be so burdened for the city and those who lived there?  

Assume for just a moment that Nehemiah grew up under the teachings of parents who were devout Jews.  In that case, he likely grew up on bedtime stories that retold the history and adventures of his Jewish culture.  Stories of heroes, like Moses, Joshua, King David & his mighty men.  Many of those stories included stories of Jerusalem…like when David killed Goliath, cut off his head and carried it through the streets of Jerusalem!  Those stories have a way of sticking in the minds of young boys, and even though he had never been there, Nehemiah had developed a passion for the city of Jerusalem…the city of his people…the city of God.

And so when some of the Jews had been given permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city…Nehemiah had high hopes of a new day for the people of God and the city of God.  I’m sure somewhere in the back of his mind he hoped to visit there someday and to see the city in all of it’s splendor in a way that would glorify God.  So, when Nehemiah gets word from Hanani, who is traveling from Jerusalem, that the city he loves is in poor condition he is heartbroken; he is overwhelmed with an enormous burden.

Before we move on to how this enormous burden gives birth to a God-sized vision for the city, lets not be so quick to move on from the place of overwhelming pain for the condition of the city of Jerusalem.  We love to talk about vision, but how many of us are willing to spend some time in a season of brokenness in order for that vision to truly be rooted in a passion to see God transform our cities?

Our American culture does not deal well with seasons of pain and brokenness.  We do everything we can to ignore it, deaden it, self-medicate it, or prescribe it away.  Christians and church leaders are just as guilty as anyone.  We run from pain and as a result we miss what it means to wrestle with God through the pain and to hear His voice gently leading us out of that place of darkness and into the future that He desires for us.

It was during such a season of pain that God would begin to speak to me about the steps to take that would lead to the renewal of Springfield First Church of the Nazarene (now One Life Church of the Nazarene).  I had been the pastor for a little over three years and while we had experienced marginal growth we had just gone through a staff transition that was painful to me personally and had caused several young couples to leave the church.

It was in the midst of this painful season that I found myself crying out to God.  I was heartbroken over the current condition of the church.  I was grief-stricken about our inability to make a significant difference in our city and our inefficiency to reach it for Christ.  I had a choice to make.  Would I run from it and move on to another church?  Would I ignore the pain, try to deaden it?  Or would I remain in it until God used it to give birth to a vision that would renew and restore.  I chose to remain in it and for the next several months I brought that burden before God and listened to his voice. 

Nehemiah didn't run from the pain of the burden he had for Jerusalem.  In fact, before Nehemiah ever did anything; before he ever cast a vision or made a request of anyone for support he spent 5-6 months fasting and praying, wrestling with God.  It was out of that season of pain that a vision, a dream for the future of the city of Jerusalem was born.

Here is the lesson for us today.  We will never accomplish anything of significance where God has placed us until we are first willing to be overwhelmed with a burden.  Let me ask you a question.  If Nehemiah was burdened for a city he had never been to, how can you and I not be burdened by the decay of the cities, schools, and neighborhoods that we are surrounded by each and every day?  It is out of this deep pain that God-sized visions are born.


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Encouraging Discouraged Worshippers

Haggai 2:1-9

Setting:  On October 17, 520 B.C. the people of God are depressed and complaining. They have moved from exile back to their home country, but it is not the same. The Temple, the center of worship and a symbol of the presence of God, remains unbuilt. The new proposed Temple pales in comparison to their former deluxe building. The negative contrasts preoccupy the conversations of the old timers who speak of the glories of the former days.

Haggai, the prophet, brings words from God:

1. “Be strong” (4).

2. “I am with you” (4).

3. “Don’t fear” (5).

4. “Be strong and work” (4).

5. “I will fill the temple with my glory” (7).

6. “I will grant peace” (9).

How mighty these words of encouragement apply in your setting in the coming year?

Contributed by Dr. Lyle Pointer

Don't Waste Your Christmas

This coming Sunday is the Sunday before Christmas, and while this is an amazing day for the church to celebrate the birth of Christ, it is also an opportunity for the church to boldly proclaim the good news to those who are unchurched.  Unfortunately, in many churches this will be a missed opportunity.

Statistics continue to declare that we are increasingly surrounded by the unchurched.  One of the latest articles I read from the Barna Group reports that there are roughly 156 million U.S. adults and children who are churchless.  That is a staggering number!  If they were a nation, they would be the eighth largest nation in the world!  And you can bet that there are thousands from my community and yours that contribute to that number.

While those numbers are alarming, I still find reason for hope.  I see evidence that many of the unchurched around us are still open to an invitation to church, especially at Christmas.  According to a study conducted by LifeWayResearch, “91 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas, including a majority of atheists, individuals claiming other religions, and agnostics or those with no religious preference.”  In addition to that, Dr. Thom Rainer writes that, “Eighty-two percent of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited."  What an amazing opportunity!

This past Sunday at One Life Church where I pastor, we had our annual Children’s Christmas Program.  It is one of the highest attended Sundays of the year and there are a high percentage of unchurched people in attendance.  I always take time to present the gospel even though I know most people are there to hear the kids instead of me.  This past Sunday six people responded to the message by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior!  Five out of six were individuals who were there because a friend invited them.

Christmas only comes around once a year; don’t miss this amazing opportunity to reach the unchurched.  Who should you invite to this Sunday’s Christmas service?  How about:

• Those who used to go to church, but no longer attend.
• Those who don’t attend church consistently.
• Those who have never attended church.

This Sunday we will celebrate Christmas.  It’s an amazing opportunity to point people to the Savior who was born for them.

“…for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  (Luke 2:11 NASB; italics mine)

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What good is Christianity?

Brett Lawrence wrote an article in the Leadership Journal in the fall of 2002 describing the spirituality of Gen-Next in their twenties who are far from God. He addresses three questions Christians need to answer when dealing with this generation. The questions reveal the hearts and fears of this generation.

Question 3: What Good is Christianity?

This is a question of utility and relevance. Does Christianity have value to me? The concept is described in the article, "Does your belief change lives? Does your religion work? Does it help me, whether I'm in your group or not? Or are you just another self-serving group?" (Lawrence 5).

Answer 3: Christians are to demonstrate value in the context of the worldview which Gen Next live in. There is value in laying our life, finances, abilities, and aspirations to give a Gen Next person something. The article summarizes, "There is a fundamental call to Christians to be involved in generous compassion to the poor and the broken and the underprivileged. There's more in the Bible about justice and compassion than evangelism" (Lawrence 6).

My response: Listen to the arrogance of the perspective! Somebody is owed something. We have forgotten the Sovereignty of God. We can be instantaneously ground to dust, killed for our faith, or simply destroyed by our Creator for His glorification! What rights and privileges do we have, in the context for which we were actually created?

God recognizes only two types of people: the saved who believe in Christ Jesus and those who do not.  There is no distinction between man, woman, Jew, Gentile, freedman, slave, wealthy, poor, broken, or underprivileged. At the final judgment, Jesus separates those who have demonstrated the fruits of salvation. Those who are allowed in have participated in the works that God gave them after being saved by grace (Eph. 2:1-10). Those who enter see the kingdom of heaven not as some privilege or right, but as an incalculable valuable gift of pure unmerited mercy.

Aggregately, Christianity strives for peaceful order and benevolent goodwill. Often it has been subjugated by the worst of examples among followers. The demonstrated principles, doctrine, and dogma of Christianity are beneficial for any society willing to embrace the blessings of God.

This article shocked my thought process in a much-needed way and that was the point of the article. We need to think differently if we are to evangelize those whose context is different. Some see a generation of people that do not know what to believe, who to trust, and incapable of deciding what is truth. Every generation has been that way and it is likely that it will continue to be that way until Christ returns. As the holy context of the Bible remains unchanged and the world continues to devolve its context away from the plan of God, our ability to grasp and bridge the connection of the world context and the cross will become ever-increasingly difficult.

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Lawrence, Brett. "Starbucks spirituality: postmoderns have three questions for Christians that you'd better be ready for." Leadership 23.4 (Fall 2002): p81. From Religion and Philosophy Collection. (2002). 3 December 2013.

Contributed by Dr. Lyle Pointer