Posted by: jong in Untagged on
Aug 24, 2011
It’s true. I long for a day when prayer seldom will be mentioned in church. Now before you drop your membership to CPLN or report me to the heresy watchdogs, let me explain.
My dream is to see churches so committed to prayer that it is just done! It is so much a part of the spiritual DNA of a congregation that no one has to beg “please come to this prayer gathering.” People just come to pray.
Posted by: jong in Untagged on
Apr 12, 2011
For the past 16 years I have had a burden to see believers discipled in prayer. Most churches neglect this important area probably because they asusme prayer growth will just happen in the life of a believer. It typically does not. We need to be intentional about it if we want to see believers grow.
One of the most significant truths I have learned is that good prayer discipleship needs to be simple (more simple than you would think) and basic. Most people are very unsure of themselves when it comes to prayer--either praying alone or with others. These people (many believers in your pews) need:
Posted by: jong in Untagged on
Mar 15, 2011
Back in 2005, we moved from Colorado to Indiana. After three and a half months church searching, my wife and I have settled on a church of about 600 in small-town Brazil, Indiana. It was actually the second church we visited, way back in July. Since I travel most weekends, I wanted my wife to be the main decision-maker in where she wanted to attend. She did one Sunday in mid-October. She went back to Christ Community (her third time there) and felt a sense this was where God wanted us.
The pastor spoke from his heart, and challenged his people that they (and he) were lax in their faith, in their commitment to Jesus Christ. Next he called for a three-day Solemn Assembly where as individuals and a church, they would repent of their sins before God. The church was open 24-hours from Wednesday (Nov. 2) at 5 am through Saturday (Nov. 5) morning. Each evening, a two-hour corporate prayer and worship time was held. Hundreds came!
Wait a minute. Something is wrong here. This was a growing church. A happening church. Probably the biggest church in town. That says successful! Blessed of God! They were even regularly seeing souls saved. Why would this pastor feel they needed to repent?
Posted by: jong in Untagged on
Dec 27, 2010
As prayer leaders we are all excited when our church increases its prayer practices. Any visible prayer activity in a congregation is good, right? Or is it possible to have unbalanced prayer practices in a church?
While I am for all prayer (provided it is prayer to God through our relationship with Jesus) I do believe it is possible to unknowingly be very unbalanced in the prayer life of a church--even with lots of prayer going on. There are three key areas where a church needs to consider balance in its prayer promotion and practices.
Posted by: jong in Untagged on
Sep 8, 2010
In most churches in the western world, only a small fraction of believers participate in expressions of corporate prayer. This is a sad statement, and it is the reason why the American church is virtually powerless.
But one of the most significant reasons why many do not participate is that corporate prayer in most churches is not corporate prayer, but personal prayer done in a group. By that I mean, usually everyone brings their own prayer practices into the larger group. Here are two personal prayer practices that hinder true corporate prayer:
Posted by: jong in Untagged on
Jul 15, 2010
A few years ago I spoke at a prayer conference at a large church in
metro Atlanta. The Friday night/Saturday event was poorly attended (80
people) for such a large church (6,000 members).
The prayer leader apologized for the small turnout, but revealed that
one of the problems was that most events at this church were not
announced from the platform. She went on to say that so many ministries
have events each month that a rule had been made: none could have
“platform time.” To be fair, any ministry leader could advertise in the
bulletin or newsletter or put up posters but could never promote during a
service.
Many churches have similar rules. Unfortunately, most of these churches
relegate prayer to “just another ministry” status. That’s a problem.
Posted by: jong in Untagged on
May 7, 2010
It seems to me our fears for the National Day of Prayer may cause us to appeal to
the wrong court!
Posted by: jong in Untagged on
Mar 3, 2010
Recently I did a study of prayer mobilization in the Bible. I
discovered something I thought was interesting: prayer was usually
mobilized by a leader challenging the people.
Posted by: jong in Untagged on
Sep 22, 2009
Recently I was leading a Sunday PM concert of prayer at Kenmore Alliance Church in Kenmore, NY (Buffalo). There were about 60 people present and we were in six or seven prayer groups for the times when we went to intercession.
I was intrigued by something that happened during the prayer times that got me thinking. Do churches have corporate passions when it comes to prayer?
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