The Cause to Live For Blog

• Embracing Prayer by Stu Gray, Cardiff Vineyard

  February 07, 2012

  

  Somewhere near the end of the Old Testament, squeezed between Nahum and Zephaniah, is the little book of Habakkuk. It’s only 4 chapters long (you could probably read it in 10 minutes). This guy had a passion for God and a vision of God’s power, but he was living in a time when Israel was far from God and evil was prospering. He was unafraid to bring the deep questions of his heart before God – boldly speaking out about the situations he saw before him. Interestingly Habakkuk’s name probably means “wrestle” or “embrace” – he wrestled with God in prayer but also clung tightly to God’s goodness.

  I am really struck by his prayer at the beginning of chapter 3...

  “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3v2

  It’s as if he is saying, “Lord we know how you’ve moved in the past to transform society...you’ve got to do now what you’ve done before...this nation needs you...”. Wow – what a prayer, asking for the wondrous things that God has done through history to be repeated in your own day. A big prayer, a big vision. What a potentially exciting dream to embrace should it come to pass...

  Is this a prayer that we are willing to embrace because it’s probably going to be costly in some way. Are we willing to embrace the sort of mindset and heart attitude that says, “Lord I’m not gonna stop knocking on heaven’s door until...Your Kingdom comes...the sick get well....You restore faith to this nation...You transform this society that needs you so much....”

  Isaiah 62 exhorts us to pray with this sort of heart:

  “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
  for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
  till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
  her salvation like a blazing torch...

  
  

  You who call on the LORD,
  give yourselves no rest,
  and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem

  and makes her the praise of the earth.”

  
  

  To pray until the church is the praise of the earth? Really? Because that seems like it could take a fair bit of prayer at times...! And what would it look like for God’s people to be the “praise of the earth”, for them to shine like “a blazing torch”?

  Here in Wales we don’t have to go far back in history to catch a glimpse of this; when a momentous move of God shook a nation and transformed a society. Literally the name of Jesus was the praise of Wales, and the effects were felt not just in Wales itself but all over the world. The following excerpt simply describes some of the effects of the 1905 Revival in Wales:

  “As revival fire spread across Wales in late 1904 and early 1905, although no official records were kept of the actual number converted, 150,000 is considered a very conservative estimate, during the first six months! People's lives were transformed by the thousands. This was indeed, a sovereign move of God's Holy Spirit!
  
  Whole communities were turned upside down, and were radically changed from depravity to glorious goodness. The crime rate dropped, often to nothing. The police force reported that they had little more to do than supervise the coming and going of the people to the chapel prayer meetings, while magistrates turned up at courts to discover no cases to try. The alcohol trade was decimated, as people were caught up more by what happened in the local chapels than the local public houses and bars. Families experienced amazing renewal, where the money earning husband and father, the bread winner, had wasted away the income and sowed discord, but now under the moving power of the Holy Spirit, following the conversion to be a follower of Jesus Christ, he not only provided correctly for family needs, but was now with the family, rather than wasting his time, and wages, in the public houses of the village or town. Souls were saved, individual lives were changed and Society itself was changed. Countless numbers were converted to Christ.” (http://www.truthinhistory.org/the-welsh-revival-of-1904-1905.html)

  Doesn’t that sound worth praying for? And not resting until it happens... Oh Lord we have heard of your fame and have heard of the awesome things you have done. Let them happen again, let us see them with our own eyes and in our own lifetime! Let your kingdom come Father! (my version of Habakuk’s prayer).

  Charles Spurgeon (a great preacher, and much more eloquent than me) put it like this:

  “Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival of religion– men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations.”

  There’s a challenge now. Will you embrace it? Will you wrestle with it in your heart?

  Will you be a Habakkuk? 

  Cause to Live For Team

• How much Bible do I need to lead?

  July 19, 2011

  How much Bible do I need to lead?
  (Questions from the Emerging Leaders Conference, April 2011)
  
  This is a toughie. The reality is that all we "need" is a most basic understanding of Scripture & theology. Some people use the Apostle's Creed as an outline of the basic truth required. Others use their own formulas...

  The miracle of Jesus is that he used inadequate, unprepared, novices and changes the world with them. Many of the people God has used to launch powerful movements were inarticulate and even illiterate. Our knowledge is simply not the point. BUT at the same time every bit of knowledge and wisdom we gain makes us that much more effective. IF!!! it doesn't stop us from being "needy novices."

  So here are a few thoughts on things related to "knowing" and "leading:"
  
  1. Knowledge puffs up. This is so important. Bible "knowledge" is not substitute for a life of experience and understanding. The Truth of Scripture is there to be apprehended and acted upon. Info for the file drawers of our mind is not a lot of help I'm afraid. As Erwin McManus says, "everything we teach that goes beyond our obedience will fall flat."

  2. Knowledge protects. As we understand the heart of our God and the shape of His vision and mission we are less able to be deceived. This strategy of confuse before you attack is the enemy's favorite. But if you have a firm grasp on truth thru a deep reservoir of Scriptural encounter then he is just less able to get in there. Plus you are better equipped to fight back as Jesus did in Matthew 4, with Scripture.

  3. Knowledge prays. When you pray the Scriptures it imbues those prayers with a power and its own supply of faith. It is like you feel as if you are praying the unfiltered heart of God. It makes for some powerful prayer times.

  4. Knowledge knows. The Biblical word for "to know" is "gnosko" which is not an intellectual or cognitive knowledge primarily_ it is an experiential and sensual knowing. It is relationship. The Bible is meant to trigger relationship. It is meant to nourish intimacy. You can meet Him in these pages. Karl Barth went so far as to label those portions of Scripture that "go neon" in this way as the actual "word of God" as opposed to the rest which remained mere letter. Hmmmm...

  5. Finally, Knowledge leads. The Book is filled with God's treasures. You simply cannot spend time in it and allow it to shape you without becoming a more substantial person and more influential. The nature of our Leadership in the Kingdom is not our own cleverness, it is the Life of God, the Kingdom, flowing in us and thru us. To be a person of The Book is to live closely to the heart of God and the mind of God. His convictions will become ours and we will cry out in our culture for them. His understanding of reality and "possibility" will be ours and we will jump off cliffs others shy away from and a generation will follow us.
  
  So the question du jour was: "How much Bible do I need to lead?" And I guess my answer is... Not much. And... More. Helpful eh?

  Cause to Live For Team

• How do I inspire committed followers?

  June 29, 2011

  "How do I inspire committed followers? People that will turn up at 9 and stay til 1.15?"
  (Questions from the Emerging Leaders Conference, April 2011)
  
  I think this is a question about getting people to commit to your church, given the 9 to 1:15 slot?
  
  Here are my thoughts:
  A compelling and well communicated vision is the main thing that will cause someone to commit to what you are doing. As leaders we need to paint a vivid picture of where we are going, we need to be able to articulate what it will be like so that people can see how they might fit within this picture. A vision that is centred on Jesus and his mission will resonate with those who are committed to following Jesus.
  Once we have communicated our vision we need to ask people to commit to it. Steve Nicholson talks about "making a big ask". He observes that people actually are more likely commit to a "big ask", something that really demands quite a lot from them, than some small, half-an-hour-a-month commitment. Don't be afraid to ask people to make a big commitment to your church or ministry.

  It's worth pointing out however, that not everyone is called to throw their whole weight behind church and be there every week 9 to 1:15. There may be those who are committed to church but who have a huge influence amongst friends, neighbours and in their community. They might not always be there at 9am but they will bring stacks of people into contact with the church, over the course of a year, because of their connections. We shouldn't frustrate them by expecting them to put in big hours on Sundays.

  Cause to Live For Team

• How to start a ministry or project...

  June 16, 2011

  "Within small churches in particular how does one go about starting a ministry, or even work out what sort of ministry to start?"
  (Questions from the Emerging Leaders Conference, April 2011)
  
  As a church leader the question that I'm continually asking people is what do you have a heart for? Who and what has the Lord put on your heart. You want to release people into the areas that they have passion for. Any ministry that is going to gather people together and create momentum is good. The proviso's that I have are is it going to take my time, my energy and the churches' money. If not then that is fine. If it is then it still might have great value but its a much larger conversation.
  On a side note when the church is smaller you have to realise that there are only so many focus's that the church can have. Sometimes its a case of proving faithful in serving the church to start with first before being released to do what you really want to. there is a tension between releasing people to do what they really want to and keeping the vision of the church together. Personally I think that gathering is the most important ministry in small churches. Any ministry that will gather people towards the community so they can meet Jesus is brilliant.

  
  

  Cause to Live For Team

• Stay Awake...

  March 31, 2011

  I was reading through Mark's gospel the other day (I am attempting for the third time to read the Bible in a year and am already behind) and came to Mark 13: 32 - 36. Jesus tells a story about a man who goes away and leaves his servants in charge of his house. Jesus says that we should be like the watchman on the door, staying awake until the owner returns.
  
  I then read on. Just a few chapters later and Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane. And we all know what happens there - the disciples keep falling asleep even though Jesus has asked them to keep watch. What a let down! I wonder if Jesus had known this would happen when he told them the watchmen parable just a few days before. I wonder how the disciples felt when Jesus woke them up for the third time and it was too late, the crowd had arrived to arrest Jesus.
  It got me thinking. I don't want to be asleep when Jesus comes back. I want to be alert and ready to go.
  But how can we stay awake? I reckon that the disciples had desperately been trying to stay awake, trying to do as Jesus asked. I think Jesus recognises this when he tells them "your spirit is willing but your flesh is weak". We all know how hard it is to stay awake when you are really tired and it can be the same in our spiritual lives.
  
  There are probably lots of answers as to how we can stay awake - the spiritual disciplines come to mind as a great way to train ourselves to work for the Kingdom. Maybe a detox from consumerism? (check out the following website for some great ideas www.breathenetwork.org) But I also think we are better if we are in it together, asking each other the right questions, encouraging each other along the way. There is something amazingly powerful about community, despite its messiness. I was watching the film "Into the Wild" the other day about a college graduate, Christopher, who goes off on an adventure to Alaska, fleeing from society. Having spent over 100 days in the wild on his own, he comes to realise that true happiness is only found in community with others. God knew best when he made the church, he created us to be in community. Maybe this wasn't just to test us! Maybe this was because he knew that we'll do better if we're in it together. It has been quoted many times that the local church is the hope of the world. It's also a source of hope for us personally. I'm not sure we can stay awake by ourselves.

  Cause to Live For Team

• Get busy living

  September 27, 2010

  "I guess it comes down to a simple choice, get busy living or get busy dying?" Andy Dufresne - Shawshank Redemption
  
  Just recently I was sitting in Starbucks spending some time sorting through a whole load of stuff that had been flying around my head and I just hadn_t had the time to process. This seems so often the case for me, too much business and noise, not enough time to listen and think. Even when I find the space, it seems an insurmountable task to begin wading through the volumes of unfinished thoughts and I often just default back to thumbing through my e-mails or checking the latest news update on the BBC sport webpage on my phone to distance myself from asking myself the right questions.
  Unprocessed thoughts, unintentional living simply leads to our souls becoming dry and our lives being shaped by circumstances and driven by blind intuition. It's the seemingly insignificant as well as the soul searching questions we face that impact how we use our time, what gets our attention, how we spend our money, the lifestyles we embrace. Ultimately these define who we become and where we are heading, both as individuals but also as communities.
  
  What questions are you asking yourself at the moment?
  Are they the right one?
  And where are they leading you?
  Starbucks or Nero's?
  Walk or Drive?
  Chinese or Curry?
  Holiday or New car?
  Need or Want?
  Spend or Save?
  Restraint or Self Indulgence?
  Truth or Lie?
  React or Accept?
  Vengeance or Grace?
  Fear or Courage?
  Obedience or Sin?
  Surrender or Hold back?
  Freedom or Captive?
  To live or to Die?
  
  
  Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians Be very careful, then how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity. Intentional living leads us towards and into all that God has for, but without it we can subtly drift, losing our reference point. God is calling this generation to stand up and be counted and to get busy living for a cause we are willing to die for and to take up our place within His Church and serve His Kingdom intentionally without restraint.
  
  Lets discuss it ...Cause To Live For 2010

  Cause to Live For Team