What comes to mind when you think about planning a ministry? If you're like me, calendars, teams, delegation of tasks, events, mission, and vision are my initial thoughts. And I'm definitely a fan of "to do" lists. Crossing off a job gives me great satisfaction. I've been to a lot of planning meetings in my lifetime and more often than not, have either said or heard those timeless words: "first we need to pray." Sadly, prayer can also become a task on our "to do" list to cross off so we can move on to getting the work done.
In a comment from an earlier post to my blog, Pastor Chris Cahill observed that prayer, when placed at the very center of planning a ministry, becomes the endoskeleton of the body of Christ. (See Anatomy of a Care Ministry: Prayer 4/19/11.) Basically, an endoskeleton refers to a framework that is on the inside of a creature. Conversely, an exoskeleton is a framework on the outside. Chris remarked how safe it is for people in our congregations to depend upon a support system that is outside the body. He notes how often we turn to organizational constructs to help us in the decision making process while ignoring the process of listening to God for direction. That certainly is a little messier for many people. We want direction and we want it now. But, sometimes we don't know how to listen to God, or we may not take the time it takes to hear his voice. Sometimes our church leaders expect us to produce a plan and we are not given time to "prayer plan."
So what is prayer planning?
Prayer planning is listening to God together. It is a group of people, drawn together for a common purpose, that prays about the ministry that is being formed. This group prays when they are together and prays while they are apart. Of course, this implies that you are planning ministry with a team. Doing ministry in community is another topic for another time. Let it suffice to say Jesus gave us the model of doing ministry together. We are not called to be lone rangers. Several years ago a dear friend, who is now part of my spiritual formation group, gave me a workbook called Listening Prayer. It is the companion to Leanne Payne's book of the same title. Growing in my prayer life has been a long process for me and I appreciate the guidance and wisdom of Payne. She writes:
"We listen to God together with others. There is nothing more valuable to a married couple, ministry teams, or prayer partners that come together in listening prayer. In fact, if we are not listening to God together with God's people, we endanger our private listening. When we come together as God's people, he inhabits our praises and prayers in a greater way. Our brothers and sisters are gifted by the Spirit in ways we are not. Their speaking and listening to God sharpens ours, adding dimensions of wisdom and knowledge we would not gain otherwise."
2. Prayer planning is keeping a journal of what you sense God is saying and confirming that with others. I journal what I intuit God saying about the new ministry at Park Street Church. Last week I brought these thoughts to the pastor to compare what he has been hearing from the Lord. The next step will be to bring them to our team meeting in two weeks. Planning ministry in community requires patience to be willing to wait on the community. I look forward to hearing what the other team members are sensing from the Lord.
3. Prayer planning is asking the Lord to help us be open to his leading while we are together at our next meeting.
Understanding the difference between the endoskeleton and exoskeleton is a simple matter of understanding where your support is: inside or outside the body. While we certainly need outside direction from other places, it is imperative that prayer is the main framework that provides the support to all we plan in ministry.
E.M. Bounds writes in his book Answered Prayer:
"Prayer is not an indifferent or a small thing. It is not a sweet little privilege. It s a great preogative, far reaching in its effects. Failure to pray entails losses far beyond the person who neglects it. Prayer is not a mere episode of the Christian life. Rather, the whole life is a preparation for and the result of prayer."
What are the "results of prayer" in your ministries?
What does "prayer planning" look like to you as you lead your church?
At my church I've invited people to join me monthly for a time of "Listening to God." Each time we gather, we
ReplyDelete1 Start with a light breakfast and checkin time.
2 Each choose at random one of the Scripture passages to be read in the worship services in the coming months.
3 Each one contemplates the passage before them using a modified "lectio divina" format.
4 Each one works through the Lord's Prayer (using the Leanne Payne model) with their Scripture passage.
5 We each share the thought, word, or idea that stood out most from our meditation that morning.
By the way, each passage is printed on its own sheet of paper and placed face down on a table. Participants simply choose one without reading it, and it becaomes their focus for the morning. I can't help but think that even though I ask the participants to "randomly" choose a Scripture passage, the Holy Spirit is the one guiding their hands each morning.
I'm also confident that toward the end of this year, as we bring all these ideas and thoughts together and lay them out before one another, the Holy Spirit will show us patterns and themes that we can work with to fashion the ministry He desires for us in the next year, or decade, or century. Of course, one or two of the folks tell me regularly "I don't see where we're going with this," and I say "I don't either; but if we're going to be in ministry together for the next 30 years it would be usefull to know if the Holy Spirit wants us to build a new sanctuary or a new leper colony."
Sounds like your church is moving to a new mission and purpose. Dr. Tony Webb shared with me one time that there is a certain point at which a church makes a shift to a new vision. He said it is normal and healthy. How exciting for you to be looking forward to a different direction! And how wonderful that prayer is what will drive that.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing the fruits of your prayer labors.
donna