40 Days of Prayer Unites County in Intercession

It has been said that God comes where He is invited. That is what the churches and ministries involved in the 40 Days of Prayer are doing, inviting God to come to our County and transform it. More than a dozen groups and hundreds of people will be praying continuously from February 22, Ash Wednesday, to April 1, Palm Sunday. That afternoon they will be joined by hundreds more as the prayer vigil culminates in the Hosanna celebration.

Each church or ministry takes a 2 day block and organizes folks to pray around the clock. Some groups set up a central prayer room and others have folks pray in their home. Whatever method employed, the end result is ‘day and night’ prayer for God to transform Washtenaw County and beyond. Along the way the Lord stirs the hearts of more and more folks to faith and hope for His kingdom to come in our midst.

In addition to the continuous prayer, each evening there is an open prayer meeting from 7 to 8 pm at the church praying that day. This provides an opportunity for Christians from other churches to get involved and for those churches who are not currently keeping 24-hour vigil to stay involved through the whole 40 Days. Everyone is invited to come to as many of these as you can to share in the county-wide prayer and get to know brothers and sisters from other bodies in the County. You can get a complete schedule and the locations at www.JesusTsunami.com .

Quotes on Prayer

The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from prayer. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.

Jonathan Edwards

  More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend?

Alfred Lord Tennyson

  Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still.

E M Bounds

  A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God.

Leonard Ravenhill

  Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.

Andrew Murray

  Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, above all that we ask or think. Each time, before you Intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!

Andrew Murray

  Here is the great secret of success, my Christian reader. Work with all your might, but never trust in your work. Pray with all your might for the blessing in God, but work at the same time with all diligence, with all patience, with all perseverance. Pray, then, and work. Work and pray. And still again pray, and then work. And so on, all the days of your life. The result will surely be abundant blessing. Whether you see much fruit or little fruit, such kind of service will be blessed.

George Muller

  Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom. If you may have everything by asking in His Name, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is.

Charles Spurgeon

  You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God...This kind of prayer be sure the devil and the world and your own indolent, unbelieving nature will oppose. They will pour water on this flame.

William Booth

Excuse me . . . May I interrupt?

Recently I read someone’s opinion that a lot of God’s work takes place in the interruptions in our life. This is an interesting point. Jesus runs across Zaccheus hiding in a tree, a woman reaches out and grabs his hem, they run out wine at a wedding he attends, and miracles happen. It would make an interesting Bible study to look in both Testaments at all the times God breaks in when the ‘normal’ gets interrupted – and then really get disrupted! You have probably heard that there are different words for ‘time’ in the New Testament. The normal flow of time is chronos (hence chronology). A special instant is kairos, as in ‘the time has come’. Most of us like a nice smooth flow of chronos, things happening the way we expect. But most of the notable things in life seem to happen at kairos moments – for good and for bad. We see that person across the room fall in love, we are shocked by a friend’s betrayal; we get the new job, we lose our old job; we get healed, we get injured …. These are the moments when our life’s autopilot is disrupted and we have choices to make, and God has a fresh opportunity to get our attention and break into our lives.

Despite our preference for that smooth, predictable flow, we all know that life is actually made up of a continuous series of interruptions from the trivial (another red light!) to the gigantic (t-boned at a red light). These are opportunities for God to take whatever the interruption, no matter whether it appears good or bad on the surface, and use it for good. This is his promise to us.

But interruptions are not just for us. If we will stay alert, we will find that the interruptions in life are often the opportunities for us to ‘bring the kingdom’ into someone’s life or some situation. Rather than rushing past them and trying to ‘get back on track’, let’s ask the Lord what he is doing. Maybe this interruption for us is a significant kairos moment for someone else. God is opening a door and putting us on the threshold as his ambassador.

If you are like me, you are probably intimidated by the notion of evangelism when it calls to mind trying to break through the resistance of someone who doesn’t even want to talk about spiritual matters and violently disagrees with what you would have to say to them anyway. That is not really a very likely formula for success even if we had the courage or bullheadedness to do it! But what if we were to see that God has placed us in the flow of time and events so that we are ready for those interruptions in our lives and the lives of those around us, those kairos moments. Jesus is sitting by the well when the Samaritan woman comes for water and starts up a wise-cracking spiritual discussion. We are having some neighbors over for a barbeque when they mention they just lost their job. Rush past and get back on the chronos train as quickly as possible or step into the kairos and see what God is up to?

The Unimaginable Hope of the Tests of God by Sam Williamson

This is a guest article by Sam Williamson which is really helpful as we deal with trials in our lives. Check out more articles by Sam at his blog Beliefs of the Heart .  

When we think about the tests of God, most of us shudder. Yet I believe that they can be a key to Hope and Joy. Let me explain.

I began flying lessons in 1997. These lessons taught me to take off and land, to navigate using aviation charts, and to communicate with air traffic control.

I particularly liked learning to land.

On my second flight, my instructor Jayne pulled the throttle to idle and announced that my engine had just died. She asked what I was going to do. Throttling her was not an option because I hadn’t yet learned to land. But I was strongly tempted.

Soon a pattern emerged. She’d kill the engine, I’d want to kill her, and we’d practice standard engine-restart procedures, and I’d look for a place to land. Then we would circle down to the landing site until Jayne said we would have made it (or not). Then she’d re-throttle the engine, we’d climb, and we’d review what I had done.

Jayne drilled the engine-out procedures so thoroughly into me that I could have done them in my sleep, though I never tried.

Two Types of Tests.

Jayne taught me to fly through a series of tests. The nature of these tests—repetition and reflection—taught me to fly. Educators call these tests Formative Tests. They are educational methods that train us in the midst of the test, such as my flying instructor’s engine-out surprises.

Each time Jayne killed my engine it was a test, but the test itself trained me to handle emergencies safely and confidently. Formative Tests teach us today how to avoid disqualification tomorrow.

However, when most of us think of tests, we picture Summative Tests. Summative Tests measure how much we have already learned, such as college entrance exams (the ACT or SAT), midterms, and finals.

While Formative Tests are designed to qualify us for the future, one could say that Summative Tests are designed to disqualify us, as in “My SAT score was low so I failed to get into Harvard.”

So what.

Why is this distinction so important? Because understanding the difference between Summative and Formative Tests is the key to joy or despair. It is the difference between midday-sun and midnight-darkness. Frankly, it is the gospel.

Most people consider Christianity to be one large Summative Test, sort of a huge College entrance exam; a big moral test which we repeatedly fail. But it isn’t.

Why do we fear the tests of God? Why do we freak out when we read passages like this, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you” (1 Peter 4:12)? We fear God’s tests for these reasons:

• We fear the Failure of tests
• We fear the Pain of tests
• We fear the Purpose of tests

The Failure. If God’s tests are Summative (assessing and disqualifying), then yes, we should fear them. But if God is using tests to form us, then we can be at peace—even in the middle of a crisis. When we misunderstand the nature of testing we think God is disqualifying us, when he is actually qualifying us. Through tests he makes us more capable; he dismantles the false self and builds in us our truest calling. He broadens our shoulders and he strengthens our steps. He’s teaching us to fly.

The Pain. When we barely hold our lives together, the mere thought of the burden of a test—adding one more thing—causes pain. We fear our engine-out-plane will hit the ground. But God himself is our flight instructor, sitting in the plane next to us. He is not on the ground giving radio instructions. His exercises develop strength. He is preparing us for something great.

We willingly experience self-inflicted pain to attain our own goals—the pain of exercise to gain health, the pain of dating to find a spouse, the pain of child-rearing to have a family—so why do we fear the pain of God’s tests? Isn’t he always after greater goals than we seek? Isn’t he more careful with our hearts than we are? He is always after something richer than we imagine.

The Purpose. We think we know what we need, and we fear God will get it wrong. God’s tests often go in directions we don’t wish. We want to be a doctor, and God wants to give us peace. We want financial security and God wants to give us joy. God formed our hearts and deepest desires. He created our calling before we were born. He knows what we need, and through his tests he reveals our hearts and our calling. And he is teaching us to land.

When we believe God’s tests as Formative, we experience hope, the pressure is off. We know that God has prepared us for this moment, and we rest knowing God uses this moment to prepare us for the next. It’s okay. Even if we “fail” this time around, God uses today’s experience to prepare us for tomorrow.

Only one test is truly Summative. That test is what we choose to belief. Do we choose to believe his tests are Summative or Formative? If we believe his tests are Summative—and failure is disqualification—then everything rests on our shoulders.

When we believe in our hearts that he has done everything for us—he has already qualified us—then every test is an engine-out exercise.

He’s teaching us to fly.

© Copyright 2012, Beliefs of the Heart, Ltd. All rights reserved.

Band of Brothers takes to the field

With the Lord speaking to us about being part of bringing His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven, the Band of Brothers has been asking, ’what more can we do?’ For the last several years we have met monthly and enjoyed great fellowship, (not a few pancakes!), and shared on topics which have helped us grow as God’s men. Along the way we have learned how to wire a house, shoot a flintlock, operate an MP3 player, brew a perfect cup of coffee—and a perfect pint of beer, join wood, and gaze at the stars, among other topics! We have had a great time and grown, but now we are asking, what can we do to have a Kingdom edge to brotherhood?

In researching men’s ministry, we have been reminded of what a critical impact men have on society. Problems of crime, poverty, aimlessness, sexual license, divorce, abuse and more trace their roots to the brokenness of men, personally and as husbands and fathers. As we impact men through union with Jesus and discipleship we can have a multiplying impact on their families and our culture.

But how to start? We realized that we have a few families who are living right in the midst of a mission field at University Townhouses. For years Jonny Lennon has had a desire to reach out to the children at U Townhouses. As we spoke together we realized that we couldn’t do anything better for them to reach out to their dads!

So, starting in December we are moving the Band of Brothers Breakfast to the U Townhouses Clubhouse. We hope to build relationships with men there, to help them draw close to the Lord and grow in Him, and enlist them as partners in the mission to bring the Kingdom more to their community. There are over 600 units in U Townhouses, so there is a wide field. How could the Lord use 5 or 10 or 20 men to impact it?

To start we offered a ‘Make Mom a Christmas Gift’ event after the December 4 breakfast. We invited dads and their kids to come and make one or more projects which included a recipe card holder, cookbook holder, napkin holder and decorations. Some of the brothers manufactured parts in advance and at the event kids could sand, glue, assemble and finish their projects.

We had a modest turn-out for the event, which was about all we could handle, as we discovered! However, everyone had a good time, some relationships got built, and kids were able to bless their Mom’s for Christmas. Stay tuned for news of future events which may include sledding, a bike repair day and more. Also join us in praying for God’s Kingdom to come to the families living at University Townhouses!

2012 Concert of Prayer on January 18 @ 7:30

At the darkest part of the year, in the dead cold of January, Christians from across Washtenaw County have been gathering for years to cry out with one voice for God to shine His light and send His fire on our County! The evening of intercession which incorporates many different styles of prayer has been hosted in rotation by different churches. This year the Concert of Prayer will be at the Bible Church, 611 East Cross Street in Ypsilanti, pastored by Elder Levon Yuille. Because the third week in January marks the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, the birthday of Martin Luther King, and the Octave of Christian Unity, the Concert focuses on the themes of Life, Racial Reconciliation and Christian Unity. But we also take time to pray for Revival because we know that for real change to take place in the other areas, people need to turn to Jesus and be filled with His Spirit!

Come and join with your brothers and sisters from churches from many different theological backgrounds, racial makeups, and worship styles as we ‘Cry with One Voice’ for our God to break in on Washtenaw County.

A Scandal to Heaven and Earth, by Phil Tiews

There was a moment in this year’s community Christmas pageant [one of the best ever, by the way, thank Rachael Varblow & Amy Campbell] when the shepherds and angels were all milling around the manger trying to get a look at the baby Jesus. The fact that his part was being played by a real baby provided the motivation for these young method actors. As I Iooked at these representatives of heaven and earth jostling and elbowing for position it occurred to me that this might be closer to that moment in Bethlehem than our usual static tableaux. We read in Luke 2 of the ‘great company of the heavenly host’ praising God and of the shepherds going off to see the baby and to our mind’s eye come the serried rows of a choir and an orderly hike ending in a reverent circle of kneeling shepherds. It may not have been so orderly! After 2000 years and untold paintings, Christmas cards, crèche scenes and carols the shock value of Jesus’ birth has largely worn off for us. It is hard to imagine just how thunderstruck those shepherds must have been. Sitting quietly by the fire, swapping stories and gossip when KAZAAM!!! the heaven’s open and God’s glory blasts down on them and from the midst of it an angel shouts out his greeting. He could see the impact he was having because the first thing he says is ‘Don’t be afraid’! When they get over the shock of the first angel, a whole mob of them (biblically known as a ‘great company') belt out their message – and then are gone. As they are recovering their wits the shepherds begin to remember what they were told and then they realize this is all wrong! Hallelujah, the Messiah has come! Angels are proclaiming his arrival – that is as it should be. But what is this about the baby wrapped and lying in a manger, that can’t be right. He is the great king, greater than David. Where is the palace, where are the courtiers, where is the earthly glory? They rush off to see and I imagine that their curiosity and confusion caused them to press in for a really good look and press Mary and Joseph for explanations about who this baby was.

And how about those angels. Maybe they had been rehearsing their part for weeks, but I think that they were as stunned as the shepherds at this development. One moment they are worshipping the Word Who was from the beginning, Who was with God and was God, and the next His glory is cast off and He has come to earth as a squirming bundle of human vulnerability in the straw of a Bethlehem hovel. Shocking! An unimaginable scandal. And why? Because of the non-understandable, gracious love of God for people, people who just a few years later would reject, abandon, and crucify Him. Wouldn’t this ‘blow their celestial minds’? I know this isn’t the way the biblical text reads, but I hear them singing ‘Can you believe our God? His ways are beyond us. Can you understand how great his favor is toward men? His peace is on them! Astounding!!!’

Luke tells us that after they deliver their message the angels left the shepherds and returned to heaven, and so it must be true. But I wonder if some of them took a side trip to Bethlehem on the way back to see what they could not have conceived, the Eternal Word, through whom all things were made, weighing in at about eight pounds and unable to care for himself, wrapped up in some cloth, lying on straw where animals have fed. How many angels can crowd around a manger? What about when shepherds start showing up to shove in for a look, too? Heaven and earth dumbfounded and scandalized by the God whose ways are not our ways, and are as far above our ways as heaven is above the earth.

Today the message of Christmas has become commercialized, trivialized, Hallmark-ized, and even for us Christians, sometimes too familiarized. We can lose our grip on the magnitude of the scandal that the Son was united with human flesh – an overwhelming demonstration of the depth of His gracious love for us, sinners. This message is so scandalous that is it rejected by secularists, by Muslims, by New Agers, by all men – “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. “ John 1:12-13

Merry ‘Eternal Scandal of God’s Love’ Day to you all!

How do we celebrate Advent? By Phil Tiews

We live in the Advent season.  Certainly it is currently the season that many churches observe as Advent, but I mean a more continual state.  Jesus has come, died, risen, ascended and charged us to look for His return, the final Advent.  We join with all the earth in expectation: Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.  Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.  Psalm 98:11-13

Those Advent candles we light this time of year don’t point us toward Bethlehem so much as toward Armageddon & the New Jerusalem!

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So what are we to do to celebrate this continual Advent?  Definitely sing for joy!  But at His coming in the flesh the King told us what His reign looks like:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

As those on whom the King has bestowed His Spirit, this gives us a pretty good program to follow during this extended Advent while we await His final return.  There is enough preaching, binding, proclaiming, comforting, bestowing, rebuilding, restoring and renewing to keep us busy, I think.  Let’s be about it so the King will find us so doing at His Coming.

Have a fruitful Advent and a blessed Christmas!

Community, Family Life & the 10 Commandments by Phil Tiews

Over the last decade or so we have entered into a new reality in community life. The nuclear family has blossomed into the extended family, even the overlapping extended family, or clan, as the second generation of community folks have sometimes married one another and started having children of their own. The ‘grandkid’ link ties those first generation folks together with family-, as well as community-ties. Some of us are also being called upon to care for aging parents or relatives, drawing us into deeper relationship with the ‘pre-first’ generation! This is a wonderful development. In the past we have invested in building intentional community together in no small part because of the loss of more natural community in our culture. Now we are experiencing the most natural of community structures, the extended family, growing up right in our midst. What a blessing! What a multiplication of dinners, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, exchange of life on every level through these family networks.

Ah, but there lies a bit of a rub. ‘Natural community’ competes with ‘intentional community’ for time, energy, resources. In the early days of our community we resolved this potential conflict by largely withholding ourselves from investment in our families of origin. As we were building a new set of relationships together rooted in Christ, participation in community activities almost always took precedence. We have become far less intense in our time commitment over the years, of course, but the number of places where community and family intersect has actually increased with the emergence of interwoven family connections. There might be less community ‘stuff’, but there is a lot more family ‘stuff’!

What do we make of this and how can we walk out this new reality fruitfully? I am sure that the Lord has a lot to show us still, but here are a couple of thoughts. Let’s keep seeking the Lord and talking about this together:

1. Family is very important to God & it must be to us

Family is important enough to God that it makes it into the ‘Top Ten’ of his commandments. Ephesians 3 speaks of every family on earth being connected to the Fatherhood of God. Much can be said on this point, but it is clear that there is a significant, holy, spiritual reality about family. As a community we must not disparage or diminish family by viewing it as ‘competition’ to ‘real’ community. We should find ways to encourage and build up families as they seek to understand how to engage with God.

2. Family is not and end in itself but is part of the fabric of the Kingdom

Just as we as individuals are called to ‘lay down our lives, take up our cross and follow’ when we enter into being disciples of Jesus, so families do not exist solely for their own benefit but must lay down their (corporate) life, take up their cross, and follow. It is the wonderful pastoral challenge of ‘patriarchs & matriarchs’ to instill this Gospel ethic into the culture of their families. We have plenty of models and experience with fleshly or worldly extended family life. Let’s help one another grow into a Kingdom-centered culture of extended family life. Hopefully this is a place the rest of the community can provide support and encouragement.

3. There is a powerful mission / Kingdom potential in community-embedded extended families

Family life is in tatters in American culture. This has not gotten better in the 40 years we have been together, it has gotten far worse. The witness of healthy, Christ-centered extended families who are not living for themselves but are engaged with God’s broader people can be huge. One response people in the culture make to the family fiasco is to try to ‘cocoon’, to draw Mom, Dad and 1.75 children into an isolated family haven. This is doomed. Interacting with vital family networks that which also have living connection to others can give a whole new vision and provide a place of life to emerge from the cocoon.

In addition, in almost all our extended family networks, there are those who are not walking with Christ, or who do not really have him at the center of their lives. Healthy, loving connections to their broader family which has an authentic Christ-centered culture provide a bridge ‘back home’ for these loved ones. Sometimes, though, they need interaction with someone outside their immediate family, but who knows and loves both them and their family. This is where the community connection can help with the mission to the extended family’s skeptical members.

These are just a few thoughts, and many of you, especially those in our ‘clans’, probably have more. The bottom line is that we should embrace this new era that the Lord has brought us into, viewing it from a broad Kingdom perspective, not as a ‘problem’ it raises for ‘our way of doing things’. God is restoring something to his people – extended families in mutual partnership with broader community life sharing together in the Kingdom mission to reconcile the world to himself. Challenging, exciting, wonderful.

Time and Life in the Spirit, by Mary Denise Curran

With all the life and death moments Vince and I have faced since moving back to Pennsylvania from Michigan, seven years ago in 2004, I have learned something very valuable. . . to treasure life as the gift that it is, in ways I did not know before. Some might call this learning how to live “Life in the Spirit.” . The gift of TIME is at the top of the list. I no longer take for granted the time that Vince and I have together. I am learning to treasure the time that we have. . . just to be with each other. I see now that God has given us the gift of Time to become the man and woman He created us to be. God has given us the Gift of Love to become the husband and wife He created us to be. God has given us the gift of Talent and Treasure to become the parents that He created us to be. And, God has given us the Gift of Grace to become His children, his son and daughter so we can help others become who they are created to be.

Kingdom Infusion – making 'Son tea', by Phil Tiews

Years ago I used to work as a repair man at a local apartment complex. When I first started, the lunchroom talk was often vulgar and profanity-laced. It was pretty uncomfortable for me. On a couple of occasions I said something like ‘I’m not interested’ to an inquiry, but mainly I tried to ignore what was objectionable or change the topic and just be myself. I didn’t preach to anyone. After the guys got to know me and I had been there a while I noticed that the discussion often changed when I came in the room and sometimes someone would apologize to me for a comment – often half-jokingly, but an apology nonetheless. What I was experiencing was not conversion or transferal from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God, but I would call it an example of the ‘infusion’ of the Kingdom of God. You may have made ‘sun tea’ at some time. You put a tea bag in a jar of water and put it out in the sun. Slowly the tea leaches out into the water and with the solar influence it begins to infuse the whole jar. You can see treads and streams of the tea spreading out in the early stages. Eventually the whole jar is tea!

Sometimes the Lord gives us the calling and opportunity to take a direct ‘Kingdom action’. It could be sharing the Gospel with someone, changing the priorities of our department at work, or ministering in the jail. But I believe the Lord wants to always be ‘infusing’ the environments that we are in for the Kingdom. Paul tells us:

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.     Phil 2:14-16

Part of sharing the Good News is to BE good news. It ought to be good news that Christians are in any situation because we bring with us blessing, encouragement, kindness, helpfulness, respectfulness, joy … life! Often without having to say anything directly, our presence will check people’s baser behavior and call to their mind their better instincts. Our example can model a different way, a life-affirming way.

The Lord told Israel to live thelaws of the way of life He was giving them for this very reason:

Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?    Deut 4:6-8

There is no guarantee that all our efforts will always meet with a positive response – in fact, we are promised that we can expect at least some persecution! However, we live Kingdom life openly because it is who we are in Christ, no matter the response. And often, we will be blessed to be part of the infusion of the Kingdom into situations and environments, a change that is a blessing in and of itself and can pave the way for deeper transformation and eventual Kingdom transfer!

The view from the registration table, by Joan K. O’Connell

A joyful thing, recognizing people as they wrestle their way through the red metal door of the Chalet at FaHoLo conference and retreat center, gaze around the room and ‘check in’. Some I saw only last week at a prayer meeting. Others self-identify that they “haven’t been around much lately,” which isn’t to say they have abandoned Kingdom territory or put down their spiritual weapons. In addition to a gently-aging population, there were children and babies, young families, a few people we got to meet perhaps for the first time, and two venerable seniors, Winslow Fox and Bren Quilter. What about the people whose names I never checked off? Well, I missed them. And, I missed the people who weren’t on the pre-registration list. It was a very full weekend of wonderful things to do; some of us were doing other things. I trust you had a good time wherever you were, but you were missed. I especially missed our friends Terry Johnson, Mary Quilter, and Elizabeth Fox who were with us in recent years, are now gone to their eternal home, God rest their souls.

While the children scurried off to various-aged childcare settings, Billy Kangas ably led us through a “what’s it all about?” construct, encouraging us see the bigger Kingdom picture: it is not about me -- Oh, my! As we enter into our part in God’s Story, Billy helped us see how to combine Divine Initiative and Human Effort with Holy Spirit empowering and our unique gifting. We get off-story when we emphasize these in wrong combinations, but when all are at work in our lives, we have the exhilaration of flowing with the movement of God’s Kingdom Story.

How to pursue the Lord’s priorities for us? Billy made some practical suggestions in the afternoon. Make a list on paper what you love to do. What stirs your heart? Keep adding to it. In addition to giving us opportunities to work out areas of challenge or growth, it is out of these heart-rooted joys, that we might perceive the Lord preparing and nudging us into our places in Kingdom service. “I have a heart for….” we say. Is it preparing the way for prisoners to meet the Lord, or to deepen their walk with him? Is it creating a hospitable environment for dinner guests? Former inmates? People with disabilities? Is it teaching children or adults to read? Taking photographs? Caring for the sick? Working out? Writing or illustrating short stories? Running a business? Walking? Talking over tea? Making quilts? Building things? Build in rhythms to our lives which bring us back to the things the Lord has made a priority for us.

Rob and Mary Carpenter and Bob Roleke told us about “Our Father’s House.” Carol Magill described “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” At some future time maybe we will also hear about “Emmanuel House”. Among other things it appears that the Lord is allowing some of us to help Him prepare a place where others may lay their heads in peace, in hope, in expectation of love. To hear Rob describe the basis for setting up one of these homes, one could say that we have resident among us some measure of wisdom and experience gained from living Kingdom life together in households and Christian Living Situations. How awesome is God’s economy! What a privilege to share what we know.

The Saturday afternoon sessions were participatory. We gathered in smallish groups by interest areas and shared ideas, inspiration, perspectives on living Kingdom life in our neighborhoods, in offering hospitality, in the business world, in education, in health care settings. The evening ‘entertainment’ was ‘do it ourselves / community style’ too! Barb Brown led us in a round-the-room series of three games played by teams or 6-8 people each. It was engaging and as competitive as you wanted to be –sometimes perhaps more than you wanted—affording me opportunities for apologies and forgiveness as the teams faced off. Politely coming and going to prayer gatherings, where else would we encounter a chance to test our love under the fire of competition? Barb prepared a time of community entertainment for the kids, too, getting the older to help them younger in a special ‘fishing’ expedition for them where they hooked prizes and other games.

The facility was familiar. Some of the staff even recognized us by now. FaHoLo outdid themselves, once again, with their clean, well-run facility and good food. Speaking of food, Patrick O’Connell, back by popular demand, served a pancake breakfast (with an egg, upon request) to about 30 people Saturday morning before the sessions began.

By the afternoon on Saturday, just in time for the recreation period, the weather was Michigan Fall-cool-and-windy and the sun was out! I believe Billy gave us some things to think about over the coming months: a way to look at what we’re doing with our lives, and a way to balance Divine initiative, the Holy Spirit, the sweat of our brows, and our individual giftings. You can listen to a recording online at our web site www.thewordofGodcommunity.org

Fall Retreat: Thy Kingdom come …

Jesus taught us to pray for the Lord’s kingdom to come on earth — and He intends that we be part of the answer to our prayers! We have been saved and empowered to partner with Him in that process, to walk in the works He has prepared for us. This is the calling that we have heard and responded to over the years. We didn’t hear an invitation to a comfortable Christianity focused on our needs, but a summons to join the King on His mission.

This is what we want to explore at the upcoming Fall Retreat. Our theme is ‘Thy Kingdom come … Being part of the answer to our prayer’. Jesus taught us to pray for the Lord’s Kingdom to come here and now, and we need to be ready to be used to fulfill that prayer. What does this look like in our daily lives as family members, workers, neighbors? How can we be more deliberate about it? What might this mean for us not only in Washtenaw County, but in the world beyond? How does the Spirit empower us for this calling?

Join us to explore these issues together at the Fall Retreat on Friday 9/30 and Saturday 10/1 at Faholo Conference Center in Grass Lake. We will engage these issues through several means:

Guest Speaker Billy Kangas Billy formerly led MissionChrist and brings insights from his study at North Park seminary in Chicago. Taking the Gospel to the ‘marketplace’ has been a passion of his for years..

Sharings from folks actively involved in a variety of ways of seeing ‘Kingdom come’

Workshops where we can talk together how to be Kingdom leaven in different settings like our work, families, neighborhood, and beyond.

Prayer! Presenting ourselves before the Lord for His instruction, commissioning and empowering..

In addition to the serious business of seeking the Lord, we are also going to enjoy the life of the Kingdom through meals, fellowship and recreation. There are options for spending the night Friday or commuting out to Faholo. For more information you can go to these pages or click here to register on line.

United Public School Outreach this fall

The students of Washtenaw County have been a prayer focus for the IMPACT prayer room and intercession in general for many years. It is looking like the Spirit is moving now in response to our prayer as doors are opening and churches are coming together for an outreach to public schools this fall. Churches in PACT and others are working together to bring Reggie Dabbs to speak at school assemblies September 26-28. (go to http://reggiedabbsonline.com/ for more info) Reggie is the #1 school motivational speaker in the nation and will be addressing the vital issue of bullying. He has a big impact on kids at their school assemblies, and then he invites them to evening rallies where he can preach the Gospel as the true answer to their issues. Area churches will be sponsoring his appearances and working together to follow up with young people who respond at the evening meetings. The goal is to not only bring the students to a point of decision but to get them into a living connection with a local body where they can receive support and discipleship. MissionChrist will be doing what we can to support this outreach. In the process of talking with local schools, we have discovered that the Lord has His servants in many strategic places in the County. The new principal at Ypsilanti High School is a committed Christian who has worked with Young Life in the past and is eager to have the churches involved in reaching out to kids at his school. He even gave some great ideas for how to go about it! The wife of one area pastor is the principal at Ypsilanti Middle School and there are also Christian principals serving at least two Ann Arbor middle schools. These are examples of how the Lord deploys His people into all of society to bring the influence of His Kingdom—the theme for our Fall Retreat!

Let’s pray for a great mobilization of the churches to reach the young people in our public schools and for the Spirit to grant them the grace of repentance and faith! This is a major front on the spiritual battle in our day and we need to Lord to supply a break through!

Living Out Loud -- Pat O'Connell

Often when I come to God with deep questions and a pen in my hand; a blank sheet of paper before me, he seems to address my heart’s concerns as I simply begin to write whatever comes to mind. The question on my heart when I recorded the following was, ‘Lord Jesus, why do I fail so often to allow the truth within to influence or be exposed to the reality without?’

Oh, how mighty, how benevolently motivated is the King, your King, Patrick. Your sovereign Lord, your kind, all knowing, all loving, all pure, all perceiving, totally real God. Keep pursuing me as the real, all human/ all God Creator that I am.

Consider what motivates. You’ve read, ‘God is love’; and as you know, Love motivates. So when you are motivated by love, you may be sure that it is I who motivates. Power motivates, greed motivates, control motivates. Fear of injury, fear of ridicule, fear of failure, fear of rejection motivate. Resist/ reject/ renounce [using my name] all sources of motivation except Love. Then stand. Stand, confident in your salvation. Stand in the limited knowledge given, content with the resultant mystery to be revealed at the proper time.

Live out-loud. Be my witness. Haven’t I made my home in you? Don’t you daily surrender to me? Haven’t we shared multiple, marvelous life-giving moments recently? So why won’t you let this light, this ongoing life in you be seen by those around you? Has any part of you bought the liar’s lie that I may be ‘right’ for you but not for another one of my creatures? If so, choose again and stand in the truth found in Acts 4:12… “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Do you disqualify your witness as not pure enough for ‘public display’? Think again. Isn’t it more attractive, more credible when you see my peace, my joy, my enthusiasm, my compassion emanating from someone who has obvious weaknesses and unanswered questions? Someone who readily agrees with Paul’s desire stated in Galatians 6:14 “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Then ask the Father for grace to let your light, the life of Jesus in you shine brightly. Live out-loud!

Watching the Kingdom Bobber -- Phil Tiews

Its summer and a lot of us will go fishing, or at least that is what we call it! Maybe it is just a good excuse to sit quietly and enjoy the sun and water – hoping we don’t actually catch anything that we will have to clean. Whether you are a serious fisher or a serious lounger, you have possibly fished with a float or bobber at some time, that little red and white ball you attach to your line which floats on the surface. When a fish strikes your bait the ball ‘bobs’ down, you know you have caught something and you go into action, pulling on your rod.

Recently I have been thinking about the prayer Jesus gave us – called the Lord’s Prayer, but really the disciples’ prayer. We are to ask the Father, ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ I am sure this is not just a pious sentiment, but that the Father and Jesus want to see their Kingdom breaking in here and now. Eventually it will completely break in, but we are to pray for it with an expectation that we will see signs of it in the present.

In addition, I am sure that we are supposed to be prepared to be part of the answer to that prayer! God wants to work through us to bring His Kingdom and will to people and situations. A word of life, peace out of chaos, healing, deliverance, repentance, shaping enterprises and institutions according to His values, all the different works of the Kingdom. Our whole life is maybe best understood as being ambassadors of His Kingdom in the different spheres He has places us as parents, students, workers, neighbors and more. There is much to say on this at another time.

I am also sure that we are to be partners with the Lord in more immediate, instantaneous expressions of the Kingdom. Things like an inspiration to pray for someone in the middle of the day and you later find out they were facing a great temptation just then. Stopping to talk with a stranger which leads to praying for them. Giving money to someone because the Spirit prompts you.

This is where the bobber comes in. You could call it a Kingdom bobber. The idea is that as we go through our days, let’s keep an eye on that Kingdom bobber. Most of the time it is just going to sit there riding the current of the overall flow of life. But every once in a while it is going to bob down because the Lord and His Kingdom is breaking in at that moment and if we go into action, we will get to be partners in the Lord’s catch.

John Wimber used to speak of ‘seeing what the Father is doing’ and joining in. That is maybe a better and more biblical way of describing the same idea. However we describe it, let’s not go through out days with our head down, about our business, even our overall God-given business, without keeping at least a corner of an eye on the Kingdom bobber. When we see it bob down -- when the Spirit gives us that nudge, speaks to us, or draws our attention – take a moment and ‘strike’ and we will get to partner with the Lord causing His Kingdom to come and His will to be done here, now, and in someone’s life.

Dawn Service Night

Community Service Night

4:30 – 7 pm, Saturday: July 23

@ Dawn Farm — 6633 Stony Creek Rd., Ypsilanti, MI 48197

 Help with Dawn Farm’s new sustainable, long term garden vision

 OR Work in an air-conditioned ‘barn’ preparing mailings for Dawn Farm supporters

 Picnic Dinner with the extended community family & Dawn clients

Bring a dessert to share. Main dish, salad & beverage will be provided

 No child care provided—kids can help with the service

A great event to bring a friend to!

Aggressive Grace

In order to protect my bald head, I wear a ball cap when I’m mowing the lawn.  To protect from the loud noise and to protect from boredom I wear ear muffs with a radio in them.  My head is down and I’m focused on the five feet of lawn ahead of me to make sure my lines are straight and I don’t run over any rocks or roots.  Somebody could be passed out and I wouldn’t notice them until I got ready to mow right over them!  At that point I hope I would be quick to shut off everything and rush to their aid.

&

Jesus told the story of the man mugged on the road to Jericho. (Luke 10:30-36)  A priest and a Levite came along with their heads down, focused on the task before them and passed on by.  A Samaritan came along.  No doubt he had plenty on his plate, as well, but he not only noticed the man, but ‘went to him’, fixed him up as best he could, took him to an inn, cared for him overnight and left money for an extended stay, and said he would pay more, if it was needed.  Jesus’ punch line?  ‘Go and do likewise.’

 &

I think the Lord has been speaking to me, and maybe to us as a community, through involving us in the EACH campaign earlier this spring.  540 churches and ministries deliberately reaching out to our region with Good News and good deeds.  I know that we are gracious people.  If, as we are mowing along through life we see someone right in our path, we will show them grace in whatever form needed.  However, what the Samaritan demonstrated might be called ‘aggressive grace’.  He didn’t wait to actually stumble over the man, and didn’t stop at just getting him to the inn and leaving others to care for him.

I think the Lord wants us to get into the habit, or back in the habit, of going through our days with our heads up and our spiritual ears open.  How does the Lord want to answer the prayer for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as in heaven—through us, in the circumstances of our daily lives which He has prepared for us to walk in, today.

Go and do likewise.

An Inside Look at Pine Hills Boys Camp -- Russ Raney

I recently had a unique opportunity to be an adult observer at Pine Hills Boys Camp. Late last year, my son (now entering 7th grade) expressed an interest in attending Pine Hills after hearing about the fun time a friend had there last summer. We wanted him to be able to participate in this experience, but because of dietary restrictions the only way he could attend would be if Dad went along to help with his food. Thus, I became the oldest ‘camper’ at Pine Hills this year and had the opportunity to watch the boys immerse themselves in the Pine Hills experience. And what I saw made me glad my son was able to be there. Here is a taste of what I observed:

• Boys learning to work together as a team to accomplish a goal.
• Boys being given opportunities to be leaders and develop leadership skills.
• Boys learning to respect authority and building new friendships.
• Boys engaged in healthy physical activity that sometimes challenged them beyond their comfort zones as they learned what they can do when they dig deeper.
• Boys having fun at the beautiful YMCA Camp facility (where Pine Hills is held) with cool activities like a 50’ climbing wall, a high ropes course, a high dive platform, and much more.
• A good relationship between the Pine Hills Camp and the YMCA Camp staff because of the way the Pine Hills kids conduct themselves and care for the facilities.
• A very capable team of men who directed, organized, and led Pine Hills Camp with a maturity beyond their years, and with an obvious desire to keep the campers safe, and to see them grow in faith, know God’s love, and experience the Holy Spirit at work in their lives.
• Speakers who encouraged and challenged the boys in their faith.
• Boys who were excited about worshipping the Lord.
• Prayer meetings where the Holy Spirit was moving and impacting lives.
• A fun ‘gong’ show where boys (of all ages) got to showcase their ‘talents’ (I use that word loosely in some instances). 
• Former campers who continue to return year after year to help on the service team, or as a counselor, or in some other capacity because of the great time they have.
• Boys learning that pursuing God wholeheartedly is a lifelong adventure for real, manly men.

It’s no wonder so many former campers keep coming back. This was a great experience for my son and all the boys there; one they won’t forget, one that moves them along the path of Godly manhood, and one which brings glory to our Awesome God.

Create in me a clean heart -- by Mary Denise Curran

Through the Word of God Community, we have experienced a people, chosen by God.  We are blessed beyond measure to have friends who know the Lord and seek to follow Him all of the days of their lives.   Through the spirit of friendship, “koinonia” … (a word I heard for the first time in a Word of God teaching given by Peter Williamson), I have glimpsed the hind’s feet on high places and been touched by the Presence of God.  I pray that every member of the Community past and present be touched by the Fire that has blazed through the heart and soul of the Community to Vince and me. It’s eternal, Life-giving Life-sustaining.   When we arrived in Michigan in 1997, fourteen years ago, we had no idea of what the Lord had in store for us. That’s a story for another day.  Seven glorious years later of living and learning how to flourish and thrive and to live Life in the Spirit, we returned home.   While living in your midst, we learned that we needed to be pruned, stripped, changed, healed, die to ourselves and trust God.  We also learned that we  needed to be revived, brought back to life and cared for by God Himself so that we could learn how to do things God’s Way. We needed to learn to turn to God in all things we needed to learn to be humble before our God if we hoped to receive the miracles that God desires for us.  Psalm 51 describes so well what God desires for each of us and how to receive what God desires to give us.  Our sacrifice is a broken spirit…a broken humbled heart. God hears us when we come before Him, take responsibility for what we have done or failed to do and throw ourselves on God’s Mercy. As I read, I realized that each line has come to life for us as we have learned to live Life in the Spirit. “Create in me a clean heart” are the words of the Curran family crest.  I include most of Psalm 51 because of the Power that flows through them. God desires to restore His Life within us …no matter how we have sinned. TRUE LOVE, the nature and essence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit loves us back to life…if we open ourselves and let them in.      

                                                Psalm 51      Verses 1-19

A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him after his affair with Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense. Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.

For I know my offense; my sin is always before me. Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight

That you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn.  True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.

Still, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom. Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow.

Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my guilt.

A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.

Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.

Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit. I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you.

Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power.

Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise.

For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept.

My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.

 GLORY to God!

Mary Denise