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| Maumee Bay State Park, Ohio |
Stanley Grenz writes: "The greatest challenge facing the church of Jesus Christ today, and therefore every local congregation, is motivating the people of God to engage in sincere, honest, fervent prayer." (Grenz, Prayer: The Cry for the Kingdom).
I am with him on this. I have been with him on this for the past 35 years. I'll be with this on my death bed, and in my last breath.
There's a whole lot of activity out there in the American church. Bunches of that activity are not prayerful. That's because most American and westernized pastors and Christian leaders don't have an actual prayer life. I estimate 80% don't, as a result of teaching about 2000 of them, to this point, in theological seminaries and conferences and retreats.
I want to be part of turning this around. I feel God has called me to be part of the turnaround.
All of our activity has not got us very far, spiritually; indeed, I think that the Activity-Based Church (aka the Entertainment Church; the Program-Based Church) has proven itself to be a relative wasteland of Jesus-spirituality. Grenz writes about this, as others have and still do like, e.g., the lone prophetic voice-in-the-consumer-wilderness Eugene Peterson.
So here I go again, and gladly so.
I'm calling for a Prayer Summer. I invite you to join. I'm praying about how to make this interactive without trying to be entertaining. Anyone want to join me in a prayer movement? I'm going for it. I don't have time not to go for it. Beware of the Jesus-tribe that actually prays.
I'm seeking God for the details.
It will cost: $0. Yay, right?!
You don't have to have money, or a lot of it, to advance the kingdom of God. The early church had none, and look what happened. As Paul once said, after being accused of being a lousy conference speaker, "All I've got is the gospel of the kingdom and signs and wonders."
In the Prayer Movement all we have is God. Is not that enough?
Pastors - I'm involving my church in this. Why not pray about involving yours in it, too?
Anyone who wants to join me in this radical, time-investment in actual praying this summer, send me an e-mail - johnpiippo@msn.com.
"If my people..."
