When We Pray -- Revive Us!

 Let me take a few moments in this blog to let you take a peek into a very intimate gathering of ministers who have gathered today from counties all over the northern state of Indiana. I am sitting with pastors and church leaders just now as prayers are spoken and passionately shared. It is so good to gathered in prayer! From across northern Indiana pastors and ministry leaders gathered on September 19, 2019 at Plymouth Crossroads Church. The invitation was sent and over 50 showed up to do nothing but pray!

This was a very personal and intimate gathering that quickly because a sacred space where many shared concerns in prayer. Many offered very personal requests and offered up the most vulnerable of concerns.

They did not gather to plan. They did not meet with an agenda. They did not even where name tags to include the name of their church. Instructions were simple, "Only put your name and county of origin on your name tag and pray!"

Three categories were prayed about: The Nation, the State of Indiana, and the Church. No one dominated! No one dictated! No one focused on themselves. Those that prayed were worshipful and prayed scripture. Only praise to God was given up!

Representing many churches, coming from many different counties, and many nations were present, we came to pray. As I write this blog, I am also stopping to pray and write, prayer a little more and write.

Pastors and ministry leaders are some of the most passionate when they pray! They are transparent in their time of prayer! They are not instructive but inspired by God’s presence! They are not guarded but confessed failings and faults. They humbled themselves among strangers that gathered.

Scattered around the intimate room, they gathered comfortably in sacred spaces throughout the room. This room was a sanctuary of hope and thanksgiving! Many prayed for peace, patience, and petitioned for others!

There were honest to God and prayed faith-filled words! Speak life - Pour out Yourself - We give You praise - Let us abide in You  - No matter the cost ... 

Prayers were spoken for those in local leadership; those in government leadership. Non-partisan and non-political, they prayer that God would bless this nation! They prayed for vision and hope!

It was truly remarkable as they prayed for the state in for one another as pastors. The leader that brought everyone together is Gordon Henke. He concluded the meeting by reminding everyone that, “The glory goes to God. It is not about ownership, it’s about obedience.”

One of the pastors stated that we are, “Pastoring not a church, but a region. We are united as the body of Christ.” There were those that shared visions and dreams that provide hope and healing for this land! There is no way this article could capture all that happened today in this prayer movement but it continues!

 This gathering will continue on a quarterly basis. Pastors are encouraged to sign up and be further engaged if they are pastoring from the counties in the northern state. They would go to Northern Indiana Pastors on Facebook.

When You’re Feeling BLUE: Thoughts Along the Way.

We’ve all been there from time to time. There are always days when we feel blue in a little down. It’s never pleasant but it is a reality that we must face before it has deep implications.

Just recently I heard about a pastor who was very involved in his community and to the surprise of everyone, took his life. Clinical specialist work with people or dealing with depression every day. Clinical depression is at all-time epidemic levels. Often times I share my thoughts with you and they are usually very positive and hopefully this one will end on an upswing. Hang in there as you read.

I meet new people every day. Many times people say to me, "How are you doing?" Perhaps to their surprise I often give the response, "I have no complaints but, I’m open to suggestions!" I try to remain optimistic as I interact with others. I have an intentional goal of making other people feel better when I’m with them. It works most of the time. Sometimes my quirky response doesn’t come across as well as I hoped. Sometimes my humor isn’t appreciated.

Nevertheless, I enjoy speaking to restaurant waitresses or convenient store clerks or even a stranger that I come across in my travels. If you’ve read any of my previous post you’ll know that I always ask people how I can pray for them. Sometimes I don’t even know who they are but, I hope that my sincere request is meaningful to them. Just yesterday, I said this to a waitress who wept as she told me her life circumstance and what she was dealing with. I told her that what she said was very confidential and she need not worry about the impression she left with me.

People are hurting! Often hidden behind a mask people are dealing with discouragement and even depression. I’ve been there too. I think we all can relate to times when we are overwhelmed or impacted by life circumstances in negative ways. There are surprises await us that seem to jump out from nowhere causing this hardship and pain.

Given the day and age that we live, I thought I would write about it and offer you four simple thoughts that perhaps you can use to monitor yourself and perhaps there is a solution just around the corner. Using the letters of BLUE, let me offer some ideas.


1. Believe. The first letter that I want to encourage you with offers up the word believe. The thread that perhaps weaves throughout our lives that offers us hope and even encourages our faith is to believe.

Nestled within that word is another word, lie. Yes, in the midst of our desire to believe is a reminder that lies are more painful than we would like to think. To believe is to wrestle with lies and deception. In fact, it is a hurdle that we must overcome.

In simple terms, I want to remind you that you can push through the terrible deception of our own negative thoughts or difficult circumstances and Deepend upon the truth of God’s love. It is what we build upon. It is the bedrock of what we can believe in.


2. Laugh. There are some people who are very serious and believe that if they open up that part of their lives, to be vulnerable that it will be negative. To laugh or to cry, it is an emotion that we must include in our every day activities in life. I saw sign once at a restaurant when I was having breakfast that offer three simple words; eat, love, pray. I like those three simple words because they are indeed simple. Each of them a bear a resemblance of connection with others. To demonstrate emotions is important. To encourage others is paramount. To laugh with others is the pentacle of life!

I always carry with me at least one joke that I can talk to people. The good news is that because I meet different people at different times I can usually tell the same joke hundreds of times before it gets old. As long as that joke is affirming and doesn’t denigrate anyone, in the firms and doesn’t destroy.

Whether it is laughter or tears, it’s important to express your feelings with others so that you could be an encourager, touching the very heart and soul of another.



3. Understand. Take time to do an inventory in your own life. Thank deeply so that you may gain understanding of why you feel the way you do. Gaining understanding of what is causing you to feel negative or down so that you can build a perspective about what is really going on. In reality, it may be  just a temporary host of a negative emotion that will pass in a few days but if it is much deeper in ongoing, seek a deeper understanding with a counselor or your physician. Chronic and clinical depression is something that we can learn from and seek help with.

Many times there are those that we see in isolation that we should come in contact with and simply ask how can I help you? Asking people to share what is heavy on their heart doesn’t take long. It’s so important that we pray for people but that we also "listen, listen" first before giving pat answers or superficial advice.

Never hesitate To offer your assistance. Never hesitate to listen. Never hesitate to respond.


4. Engage. I’ve often said that as a pastor that if I ever fell down or discouraged about my circumstances that I would take time to make a hospital call or to visit a shut-in or to provide care and comfort to someone in need. It is pretty remarkable how my concerns seem to fade into the background as I help others in need.

Unfortunate that as we deal with depression how insidious this disease is. It often causes people to isolate themselves from others rather than engage with others. Too often we set ourselves apart from others when indeed the very solution may be to reach out to others!

I write this knowing that I am not a licensed social worker or clinical psychiatrist. In fact, you may be reading this and neither are you. Nevertheless, it’s important to address this topic and to be willing to be responsive to the needs of others. Allow them to share their feelings whether it be in anger, or tears, or complaints. Be a buffer to listen, listen first. Do not be quick to answer. Do not be quick to solve their problem. Ask questions so that you can gain an understanding of how you can best care
for them. Bring a specialist into your conversation. Let someone know that you care enough to bring someone who can help.

Remind yourself as well, when you feel alone and depression becobe a reality, you can also look to these for ideas and begin to unpack the concern that weighs heavy on your own heart. As Christians we can look to 1 Peter 5:7 -- "Cast all your cares on God because he cares for you."

Believe. Laugh. Understand. Engage.

Not Because I’m Good.

I have the tremendous opportunity to travel around the state of Indiana meeting with pastors and ministry leaders. On any given month, I can average between 17 and 20 ministerial groups that gather for prayer and encouragement as well as planning community events. I consider it a real honor to be able to eavesdrop on these special meetings with pastors. I know for me, in my own community of Grant County, Indiana, I enjoy the fellowship of ministry leaders who gather for prayer and encouragement that lifts my spirit!

So many are unaware of the tremendous load the pastors carry and these gatherings are an opportunity to lift each other up as they lead ministries throughout their community. As part of these gatherings, they talk about some incredible ministry that they provide including emergency funding to low income families or services to meet the needs of those who are their neighbors. Many of these groups collect funds in support food pantries that are literally helping thousands of people, while also demonstrating the love of Christ through these ministries.

It’s also an opportunity for ministry updates and to be encouraged as stories are shared. I’m always inspired as I attend these groups because I see the sacrificial commitment of pastors and community leaders who give of their own resources to help others.

While attending one of these meetings a story was told that truly is remarkable. It's a story written by Daniel Montgomery and Timothy Paul Jones in the book, PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace. It is a story of adoption that clearly conveys the love that Christ has for us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It’s a statement of love and grace.  I read a quote recently that reminds me that our past is a piece of reference not a place of residence. This simple reminder, in part, is what we all need to remember. Let me summarize the story as it was shared with me.

The story is of an adopted child who was not allowed to participate in all of the family activities. Yes, that’s remarkable to think about. As it turned out, that child was placed back into foster care and eventually the opportunity became available to be adopted. Yet, the pain and difficulty of the previous home was dramatic and difficult for such a young child. Quite often the child’s activities were limited to only natural children in this home. One trip was to Disney World where the adopted child was not allowed to be in attendance because this was a "family event." As you can imagine, this child was further traumatize through this exclusion. The child often felt that it was because she was a bad child or that she had done something wrong and she was not able to participate.

Observing this was another family, who knew of this child and eventually had the opportunity to adopt that child into their family through foster care. One of the trips that they planned was particularly developed so that this adopted child could experience a family vacation. They planned a trip to go to Disney as a family. The adoptive child was included in those plans.

Leading up to the trip however, the adopted child begin to act out in negative ways. As the trip neared and the packing began, this child begin to act negatively and cause trouble for the other siblings in the family. Even during the first few days of the trip, the adopted child acted very poorly and would often create trouble and a fuss. Eventually the child presented less and less of a problem and was better behaved. It was as if the child ran out of fuel and all the fuss.

Later, during one of those evenings during the trip to Disney, the father sat on the bed of the young child who was adopted into their family. He simply said, "What do you think of the trip so far?" A little girl, very much aware of her fuss and misbehavior, responded by telling of some of the exciting things that she saw and did during the trip. The father affirmed the little girl by talking about some of the things that he also enjoyed about having her along for the family vacation.

To the father’s surprised, the adopted daughter quieted and softly said, "I am not on this trip because I’m good but because I’m yours."

Remarkably, the story demonstrates the grace that our Lord has for us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It’s such a remarkable story about his love and grace. The meaning of the story is significant. Sometimes we tend to believe that the Lord response to us and rewards us because we are good but in reality, we cannot earn his love. At some point in our Christian journey we discover that we could never be good enough but, He accepts us into His family because He chooses to! We become His through the incredible gift of Grace and mercy, not because we are good but because we are His!

Love Wins Out!

I was sitting with a group of people recently when an interesting statement was made. It caused me to think about how positive the statement was. It was like a refreshing breeze. It was like a shooting star. It was like a surprising gift that comes unexpectedly.

This message came by way of negative circumstances, like the ones we may often have. We were listening to people recitr problem that were significantly large. The problems we were talking about was overwhelming.

All of a sudden the statement uttered was a game-changer. The man broke our negative tone by saying, "Love wins out!" That simple statement changed the atmosphere! That statement increased our hope! That statement gave us more faith! That simple phrase pointed to the solution!

That phrase came out of some life experience that was helpful in our discussion. The gentleman that offered that phrase had gone through experiences that were very difficult when his grandson and granddaughter got involved in foster care. Knowing a bit of the story helped lay the foundation of a healthy discussion that ultimately brought us hope during our conversation.

The backdrop offered the context before believe system that love wins out. Win this gentleman‘s grandson got involved in foster care, there were tremendous amount of difficulty that ensued. Children in their care came from a very broken family dynamic where there was certainly neglect and likely abuse. As he observed the incredible dynamics he was able to witness how, as he expressed love of the brokenness that could’ve been generational begin to be healed.

Incredible results occurred because they allowed love to dictate and especially in the lives of the foster children. It wasn’t being patient nor was it being too restrictive. It was allowing for grace through God’s love to bring a solution in those relationships.

Love wins out is not only a belief system that brings hope but life-style motto about how to demonstrate God’s love. Love wins out says that no matter the difficulty or the personal struggle, you will always love. Love wins out is the opportunity to allow healing hope. Love wins out says that you will provide love, unconditionally. Love wins out means that you will always be as supportive as you can, no matter the difficulties.

Later I was able to have lunch with the individual who authored such a profound and meaningful expression. The gentleman stated that he would always tell his children and grandchildren that no matter how difficult it gets, love wins out.

I am reflecting on how much hope this man has. Even in the most desperate situations, love wins out. I’m also reflecting on the words of Jesus who said of Himself,"I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me..." (John 10:14) what a terrific message that we all can use to encourage our own walk with Jesus. Love wins out.

The message of this good shepherd throughout the New Testament is a message of eternal life, a hope that knows no boundaries. Because of the generous sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we can be filled with an everlasting hope, an optimism about God’s kingdom; through Jesus we know that love wins out!