Prayer Leads to Unity

God uses prayer to bring great change in our world today.  I have noticed that prayer also leads to unity amongst believers.  We find an example of this in Acts 4.

The believers held an important prayer meeting in Acts 4.  Verse 31 informs us of the results of that prayer: “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31, ESV).

It is no accident that immediately following this verse, Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, included a statement summarizing the unity experienced by the early Christian community.  “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but that they had everything in common” (Acts 4:32, ESV).  Something happens in the Spirit when we join together in prayer:  we are knit together in unity.

There are several reasons for this:

1.      When we spend time in prayer, we are shaped into the image of God.  The Trinity experiences perfect unity.  In His high priestly prayer of John 17, Jesus prayed “that they may be one, just as we are one.”  As we spend time in the presence of God, surrendering to Him, we will be molded into His image, and the unity we have with our brothers and sisters will be reflective of the unity between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

2.      In prayer, we are synced up with God’s mission and purpose.  If each of us become synced up with God’s agenda, we become aligned in unity with each other.  My closest friends over the years have been those whom I have served with in ministry.  It is because we have shared the same mission and passion for the ministry to which we are called. 

3.      When we pray together, we are much less likely to criticize each other.  James reminds us that we should not bless the Lord with our mouth, and then turn around and curse men who are made in the image of God (James 3:9). 

4.      There is an inexplicable element, wherein as we receive God’s love, it makes us want to love each other all the more.

I have deeply enjoyed the prayer emphasis this year.  As I reflect on the designated times of prayer in the first week of January, the prayer service on the Day of Pentecost, and the prayer tours, I have enjoyed both being in the presence of the Lord AND the unity I have felt with others.  As we continue in prayer, both in our respective ministry locations, and also with those around the State, I believe we will continue to grow in our unity together.  This is pleasing to the Lord, and is a powerful testimony to the world.

AG Reaffirms Abstinence Position on Alcohol

One of the tasks we accomplished at General Presbytery this week is to approve a rewrite of our position paper on abstinence from alcohol.  I believe this paper is well written, and it is an improvement from the previous paper.  It makes a better case, in my opinion, with integrity to the biblical text, of why we choose abstinence.  It will be released in September.  The link to the news story is below.

http://penews.org/news/general-presbytery-reaffirms-ags-position-on-alcohol

2016 General Presbytery

The 2016 General Presbytery in Louisville just concluded.  I enjoyed being able to represent Alaska, along with the other Alaska Presbyters, as well as seeing friends from around the nation.

As normal, Pastor Gary played the piano during the worship times.  He does an excellent job.

Dr. Hammar, the legal counsel, for General Council, gave a legal update.  He always manages to make us laugh AND cry.  I appreciate the information he provides, and he is a blessing to our Fellowship.

Superintendent's Prayer Tour

Supt. Bill Welch has designed 2016 as a year of prayer in the Alaska Ministry Network.  Toward that end, he has led a Superintendent's Prayer tour.  This past Monday and Tuesday, 5 of us traveled up the Parks Highway, praying at Hilltop AG in Houston, Talkeetna AG, Valley Chapel in Healy, Nenana AG, North Pole AG, Intercultural AG, Jubilee Worship Center, and Fairbanks 1st AG.  Everyone else (Supt. Bill Welch, Terry Hull, Eldon Hicks, and Milt Michener) rode their motor cycles, and I drove my minivan.  :)  Thanks to Jeremy Davis for creating the above graphic.

Upon reflecting on this trip, I feel incredibly blessed to have participated.  Although the hours were long, my spirit was refreshed.  The prayer times were meaningful, and I was struck by the heart of the Pastors and staff for reaching their communities and surrounding areas.  I believe that God is strategically placing his servants, in preparation for a great harvest in Alaska.  It is important for us to continue to pray that God would send forth laborers into the harvest fields, that He would empower us by His Spirit, and that we would experience unity.

Below are some pictures of our time together.  Thank you to Pastor Billy for allowing us to spend the night at the church in North Pole.  We remembered to take pictures at each location except for North Pole.

Prayer at Hilltop AG in Houston.  Pastor Kevin Shumway was out of town, but gave us access to the building to be able to pray.

Prayer at Talkeetna AG with Pastor David Sutton.

 Prayer at Valley Chapel with Pastor Rob and Alysha Furgeson.

Prayer at Nenana AG with Pastor Billy and Brittany Starkweather.

Prayer at Intercultural AG.  Pastor Scott was out of town, but we prayed at the building.

Prayer at Jubilee Worship Center with Pastor Jeremy and Charee Davis.  Paul and Crystal Burkhart and the Fairbanks Chi Alpha team joined in prayer with us.

Prayer with Pastor Mark and Heidi Zweifel, and the staff at Fairbanks First Assembly.

In case you were wondering, yes, I was stopped when I took this picture.  A train had just passed (see pic below). 

AKMN-PP Course

I am preparing to facilitate/teach a class on "Christian Thought" as part of the Alaska Ministry Network Partnership Program with Northwest University.  I have really enjoyed the reading for the class, and believe students will be blessed in taking this course.

Greek Resources

Do you have a desire to learn biblical Greek? Or do you simply need to sharpen your existing skills?   I wanted to share a resource that has blessed me.  Rob Plummer of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has developed an excellent resource at www.dailydoseofgreek.com. 

If you click on the "learn" tab, you can access free introductory video lessons in biblical Greek.  If you have already learned Greek, and don't want to forget it, you can subscribe to the "Daily Dose of Greek", which is a daily 2 minute video, translating one verse of Greek.  I have found that resource very helpful in maintaining and sharpening my Greek.

Learning the original languages is one more tool in our belt to help us to delve deeper into the Word, and become more effective teachers and preachers.

Correction is Good!

I remember watching with some amount of trepidation as Dr. Gary McGee perused my essay with his green pen, circling any weak language—especially any overuse of “to be” verbs.  He made himself available in the student lounge the day before papers were due, and offered corrections to our papers.  When first beginning graduate school, you experience a steep learning curve in the quality of writing expected.  While I initially felt disappointed as I looked down at my paper, lit up with green ink, I will always feel grateful to Dr. McGee for his investment in my writing skills. 

When someone brings correction, especially when it comes from someone who has authority in your life, it can be viewed as “being in the doghouse” or being taken to the principal’s office. Reactions can range from anger, to shame, to becoming very defensive.  These reactions occur due to an inadequate understanding of the nature of correction.    After all, correction exists for our benefit.

As we have opportunity to bring correction to a brother or sister in Christ, let us do so with humility, gentleness, and grace.  I suspect that being harshly corrected in the past has led many people to fear correction. 

Proverbs 10:17 says, “Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.”  If we ignore correction, we open the door to being in error, and will lead others astray.  When we can place correction in a positive light, we will receive it with joy, appreciative for the opportunity to grow in grace and in wisdom.

 We can be corrected by another person, through reading the Bible, or in prayer.  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  Scripture is useful for bringing correction, with the purpose of equipping us for good works. 

The Superintendent designated 2016 as a year of prayer.  I encourage each of us to lay our hearts before the Lord during times of prayer and reading the Bible, and ask him to bring correction to any areas that do not accurately portray Christ.  When a person brings correction, do not become defensive or upset, but take it before the Lord in prayer.  We should eagerly embrace the process of being shaped and molded into the image of Christ, which will result in drawing closer to Jesus and being more effective in ministry.