pray for those who lead you

Early this week I shared an article with our church leadership team that used these verses to encourage people to pray for their church and it’s leaders. The article is titled “7 Ways to Pray for Your Leaders” and can be found at the DesiringGod.org website. It is a great read.

I’d like to ask you to join me in pray and specifically praying for these 7 things.

James 3:17 NLT

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

Years ago I heard Pastor Johnny Hunt ask that people pray that he would remain “close and clean”. That is a powerful request that falls in to this vein. It is also a way that you can pray for me and other church leaders.

Pure - Pray that we would be pure in our conduct, blameless, meaning “above reproach”.

Peace-Loving - Pray we would love peace and seek it.

Gentle - Wisdom from above is gentle. Pray we will have enough confidence in God to trust his will and ways, and play their part in his plan with patience and gentleness.

Open to Reason - Good leaders are good listeners … be quick to hear, open to reason, and easily persuaded by good sense, argument, and rationale.

Full of Mercy and Good Fruit - True wisdom is inevitably practical. It comes out in action. The church ought to be the most mercied collective on the planet. Pray we will overflow with fruit and His endless mercy.

Impartial - Impartiality is an especially important virtue for leaders. The impartiality of God is a clear, and often overlooked, theme in the New Testament. Pray we would be honest, far and clear as we deal with and even think of others.

Sincere - The term literally means “without hypocrisy.” Pray we would be transparent people who live and lead with humility and sincerity.

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Search This Blog