Nazarene Renewal Prayer Team [Thoughts After Some Time Off!]
Dear Nazarene Church Family,
Approximately six years ago I initiated a prayer movement in the Church of the Nazarene by asking everyone on my mail list to take some time on Thursdays to saturate the work of our entire denomination in prayer. The movement was born out of my belief that we need a shakeup, a Divine shakeup from the bottom up and the top down! I still believe that. And, let me quickly add that my concern has nothing to do with individuals, rather, in a denomination, corporate, high-centeredness and a drift into passionlessness that has robbed us of our God-given heritage.
A couple years ago I made a decision to back away from my weekly emailings for the Nazarene Renewal Prayer Team (NRPT)...for a few reasons. One was that I had the impression that some of what I was saying was a bit "over the top." I found myself saying stuff more in ways to get a response rather than to make a legitimate point. Another was that I wanted to back away in order to absorb more information about the local church. One more...I had made a personal transition in pastorates and needed to pay close attention to what I was doing!
And, by the way, this email today is not the re-beginning of a weekly NRPT email. I will send out occasional reminders to pray.
One important development during my time away from NRPT is a growing group of leaders in our denomination who are promoting a restructuring of some components of our church. You can pick up on the discussion of the restructuring movement by visiting www.naznet.com This is a vital discussion and one in which I have taken part, but th concern of NRPT revolves around spiritual revival, renewal and restoration.
It seems obvious to me that spiritual renewal and organizational restructuring should go hand in hand! To have spiritual renewal without restructuring would limit out future productivity. To have restructuring without spiritual renewal would limit our future passion.
This "reminder" is being sent out on this Thursday to remind you to spend special time in prayer for our denomination on today. You probably already do this, but please pray for:
Our General Superintendents
Divisional Chairs
General Board
NPH
Universities, Admin and Faculty
District Leadership
Local Church Pastor and Lay Leaders
Missionaries
Evangelists
We all need a fresh outpouring of God's Holy Spirit upon our lives. It is incredibly easy to fall into a routine and forget that the "Cloud" and the "Pillar of Fire" moves...on a rather regular basis! Pity the pour soul who decides to put down stakes when the presence and power of God has moved on!
Friend,
Wes Smith,
Longview, WA, Nazarene
********************************************
[Extra Credit Reading!]
One lesson I've learned over the past couple years of silence on the NRPT level is that we are the greatest barrier to Kingdom advancement. That is, the enemy isn't exactly "out there." I don't know the exact best way to describe it, but anytime in history a group of people have sacrificially committed themselves to a common cause, extraordinary outcomes have been the result. On the other hand, when there is discord, lethargy, self-centeredness or a lack of a clear vision the mission is diminished and potentially aborted.
Let's use that thought regarding a typical Nazarene Church with an average weekly worship attendance of eighty. We know right off the top that a good one-half of that attendance is made up of people who are peripheral to the mission of the church. Of the other forty there are five who are driven to press on with the vision of reaching the area for Christ. There are twenty who are followers and will cooperate...whatever. There are ten who like things just the way they are (but won't fight) and the other five have set themselves up to oppose anything new and different that comes down the pike (and will fight). These folks are often good looking, dyed-in-the-wool, even loving, members of the church. Problem is, they see themselves as guardians of what has always been and enemies of anything that looks new or different.
Multiply that by the number of people in your church and I think you will see that a primary job of any local leader is to seek and embrace an unshakeable vision. Take it from one who lives and breathes ministry. There will be times in the turnaround of the church where the only thing you have going for you is the vision God has placed in your heart. The good news is...when you have a vision you have everything. On the other hand, you may have lots of ministry advantages (stuff), but without the vision they amount to nothing. Where vision is absent, boredom and/or rebellion will ultimately rule. When the vision is present and well spelled out...in time, the vision will prevail.
Bottom line? Let me say this as positively as possible. Revival, renewal and restoration currently resides in the hearts of pastors and lay leaders in our denomination. Our need is to give in to it! Dullness exists because we are dull. Lethargy exists because we are lethargic.
Take God out of this issue for a moment. Islam, minus the empowerment of God's Holy Spirit is encroaching on civilization like crazy. Mormonism holds its head high and continues to increase in spite of all the errors, additions and omissions. Various multi-level-marketing organizations dream a dream and bite off significant portions of the nation's economic prosperity. How in the world is this stuff possible? Nearly all of us would say that these organizations are not driven by the Holy Spirit. How in the world do they sustain their forward mobility? Vision. Passion. That's it! Take any ordinary individual and add vision and passion to his/her life and you have the immediate potential for revolution.
Here we are, the embodiment of the holiness, Holy Spirit movement and we are, to a large extent, dead in the water. Someone please try to justify this! Explain it to me! How is it possible? One possibility is that our denomination is the keeper of an old dream. Our archives have become more important to us than our legacy. (Where we've been is more discussed than where we are going and what legacy we will leave behind.)
Read slowly now.
Well, what about hope? Is there any? The neat thing, the blessing is that of all people we are, or should be, people of great hope. We serve the God who is always the same. We embody Pentecost. The ONE who blew fresh wind, fresh fire, and a new language into the Upper Room is the One who blows His breath, His Spirit into our personal lives and into the deadness and dullness of our key "believing resisters," and into a fresh, powerful vision and passion for our church.
Honestly, being the bearer of passion and vision in the local Church of the Nazarene is exhausting work! You must find ways to protect and nourish your spirit. For every visionater...the night is long. Everywhere you turn--darkness! But please believe--joy comes in the morning! The darkest hour is that time, that very time when we are most tempted to give up. And, that darkest time in the soul means that breakout is near! Okay, all together now, "Hold on my child. Joy comes in the morning. The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight!" Hmm. (Where in the world is Doug Oldham when we need him? Ha!)
That's it for today. Wouldn't it be great if every pastor, every lay leader in the Church of the Nazarene was on his/her face before God asking for a fresh vision, or praying to hold on to the vision! Not just any vision. A vision worth living and dying for!
Let's "spiritually" do what I did with a few of my buddies when I was a young child in South Dakota. We poked (little) holes in our wrists and then conducted a special handshake that let our blood mingle! It meant we were "blood brothers!" Well, that thought actually works for us since all of us, in Christ, really are! (and sisters!) Take my hand. Pray and believe with me that we are in the early days of a new one-eighty-turnaround and it's going to be good. Very good!
Love To You All,
Wes
Approximately six years ago I initiated a prayer movement in the Church of the Nazarene by asking everyone on my mail list to take some time on Thursdays to saturate the work of our entire denomination in prayer. The movement was born out of my belief that we need a shakeup, a Divine shakeup from the bottom up and the top down! I still believe that. And, let me quickly add that my concern has nothing to do with individuals, rather, in a denomination, corporate, high-centeredness and a drift into passionlessness that has robbed us of our God-given heritage.
A couple years ago I made a decision to back away from my weekly emailings for the Nazarene Renewal Prayer Team (NRPT)...for a few reasons. One was that I had the impression that some of what I was saying was a bit "over the top." I found myself saying stuff more in ways to get a response rather than to make a legitimate point. Another was that I wanted to back away in order to absorb more information about the local church. One more...I had made a personal transition in pastorates and needed to pay close attention to what I was doing!
And, by the way, this email today is not the re-beginning of a weekly NRPT email. I will send out occasional reminders to pray.
One important development during my time away from NRPT is a growing group of leaders in our denomination who are promoting a restructuring of some components of our church. You can pick up on the discussion of the restructuring movement by visiting www.naznet.com This is a vital discussion and one in which I have taken part, but th concern of NRPT revolves around spiritual revival, renewal and restoration.
It seems obvious to me that spiritual renewal and organizational restructuring should go hand in hand! To have spiritual renewal without restructuring would limit out future productivity. To have restructuring without spiritual renewal would limit our future passion.
This "reminder" is being sent out on this Thursday to remind you to spend special time in prayer for our denomination on today. You probably already do this, but please pray for:
Our General Superintendents
Divisional Chairs
General Board
NPH
Universities, Admin and Faculty
District Leadership
Local Church Pastor and Lay Leaders
Missionaries
Evangelists
We all need a fresh outpouring of God's Holy Spirit upon our lives. It is incredibly easy to fall into a routine and forget that the "Cloud" and the "Pillar of Fire" moves...on a rather regular basis! Pity the pour soul who decides to put down stakes when the presence and power of God has moved on!
Friend,
Wes Smith,
Longview, WA, Nazarene
********************************************
[Extra Credit Reading!]
One lesson I've learned over the past couple years of silence on the NRPT level is that we are the greatest barrier to Kingdom advancement. That is, the enemy isn't exactly "out there." I don't know the exact best way to describe it, but anytime in history a group of people have sacrificially committed themselves to a common cause, extraordinary outcomes have been the result. On the other hand, when there is discord, lethargy, self-centeredness or a lack of a clear vision the mission is diminished and potentially aborted.
Let's use that thought regarding a typical Nazarene Church with an average weekly worship attendance of eighty. We know right off the top that a good one-half of that attendance is made up of people who are peripheral to the mission of the church. Of the other forty there are five who are driven to press on with the vision of reaching the area for Christ. There are twenty who are followers and will cooperate...whatever. There are ten who like things just the way they are (but won't fight) and the other five have set themselves up to oppose anything new and different that comes down the pike (and will fight). These folks are often good looking, dyed-in-the-wool, even loving, members of the church. Problem is, they see themselves as guardians of what has always been and enemies of anything that looks new or different.
Multiply that by the number of people in your church and I think you will see that a primary job of any local leader is to seek and embrace an unshakeable vision. Take it from one who lives and breathes ministry. There will be times in the turnaround of the church where the only thing you have going for you is the vision God has placed in your heart. The good news is...when you have a vision you have everything. On the other hand, you may have lots of ministry advantages (stuff), but without the vision they amount to nothing. Where vision is absent, boredom and/or rebellion will ultimately rule. When the vision is present and well spelled out...in time, the vision will prevail.
Bottom line? Let me say this as positively as possible. Revival, renewal and restoration currently resides in the hearts of pastors and lay leaders in our denomination. Our need is to give in to it! Dullness exists because we are dull. Lethargy exists because we are lethargic.
Take God out of this issue for a moment. Islam, minus the empowerment of God's Holy Spirit is encroaching on civilization like crazy. Mormonism holds its head high and continues to increase in spite of all the errors, additions and omissions. Various multi-level-marketing organizations dream a dream and bite off significant portions of the nation's economic prosperity. How in the world is this stuff possible? Nearly all of us would say that these organizations are not driven by the Holy Spirit. How in the world do they sustain their forward mobility? Vision. Passion. That's it! Take any ordinary individual and add vision and passion to his/her life and you have the immediate potential for revolution.
Here we are, the embodiment of the holiness, Holy Spirit movement and we are, to a large extent, dead in the water. Someone please try to justify this! Explain it to me! How is it possible? One possibility is that our denomination is the keeper of an old dream. Our archives have become more important to us than our legacy. (Where we've been is more discussed than where we are going and what legacy we will leave behind.)
Read slowly now.
Well, what about hope? Is there any? The neat thing, the blessing is that of all people we are, or should be, people of great hope. We serve the God who is always the same. We embody Pentecost. The ONE who blew fresh wind, fresh fire, and a new language into the Upper Room is the One who blows His breath, His Spirit into our personal lives and into the deadness and dullness of our key "believing resisters," and into a fresh, powerful vision and passion for our church.
Honestly, being the bearer of passion and vision in the local Church of the Nazarene is exhausting work! You must find ways to protect and nourish your spirit. For every visionater...the night is long. Everywhere you turn--darkness! But please believe--joy comes in the morning! The darkest hour is that time, that very time when we are most tempted to give up. And, that darkest time in the soul means that breakout is near! Okay, all together now, "Hold on my child. Joy comes in the morning. The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight!" Hmm. (Where in the world is Doug Oldham when we need him? Ha!)
That's it for today. Wouldn't it be great if every pastor, every lay leader in the Church of the Nazarene was on his/her face before God asking for a fresh vision, or praying to hold on to the vision! Not just any vision. A vision worth living and dying for!
Let's "spiritually" do what I did with a few of my buddies when I was a young child in South Dakota. We poked (little) holes in our wrists and then conducted a special handshake that let our blood mingle! It meant we were "blood brothers!" Well, that thought actually works for us since all of us, in Christ, really are! (and sisters!) Take my hand. Pray and believe with me that we are in the early days of a new one-eighty-turnaround and it's going to be good. Very good!
Love To You All,
Wes
posted by Marty at
5:59 PM
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