storiesofvalue

Because I was “One”

There are many reasons to “Pray for One”.

First, and foremost, Jesus told us to go to every nation and make disciples. We need to pray that God would show us our “one”, wherever and whomever he or she might be.

Secondly, we “Pray for One” because we see those around us who appear to be outside of Christ. When the apostle Paul was imprisoned, he was surrounded by Roman authorities who were most certainly pagan in belief and practice.  During this time, in His letter to the churches of Colossae, Paul wrote “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. (Colossians 4:3-4)

And then, here is a third and very personal reason we “Pray for One”: At one time we were someone’s “one.”

If you were raised in a Christian home, you might be thinking, “Wait a minute. I was never lost.  I have always been in church.”  Yet, being raised in a church building, or even in a Christian home doesn’t make one a Christian.  In fact, if you were raised in a Christian home, there is a good chance your parents prayed for your salvation.  You were one of their “ones”.  I believe in my case, even my Sunday School teachers prayed for my salvation!  I was their “one”.  If I understand the Bible correctly, even though I was raised by Christians parents and taught by Christian teachers in a Christian church, if I had not answered the call of Christ myself I would be lost today.

I return to my statement, ‘At one time we were all someone’s “one”.’ Perhaps you rebelled against your Christian upbringing, or you were brought up without the Lord in your life.  Looking back, you might think you were living so far away from God you couldn’t possibly have been anyone’s “one”.  This may be true, but if you are in Christ now, it is possible you were indeed someone’s “one”. What led you to Christ?  A friend who reached out in a time of need?  A co-worker who talked you through a crisis?  A book that helped you understand God’s grace?  Did you know when Christian authors sit down to write they pray for God to use their work to lead others to Christ?  Were you aware people who translate, produce and sell or give away Bibles pray the Words inside will show someone the way to salvation?

When we came to Jesus, it is possible someone in our lives said, “I have been praying for you.” If they did, it might not have occurred to us what they meant.  They were likely praying for our salvation and asking God to help them do and say the right things.

My point is, we probably didn’t come to Christ apart from someone who was praying for their “one”. It wasn’t because we are so smart we figured everything out ourselves, or so good following Jesus was the natural thing to do.  Someone was praying.

This is why I “Pray for One”. My prayer for my “one” makes me aware of the people God is sending into my life and reminds me to be ready for them.  I am so thankful others prayed for me.

I’m pretty sure they still do.

“Pray for One” for Real

We gravitate toward systems and programs. For some reason our experiences make more sense to us if we are able to organize them into reproducible story lines.  This can be a good thing, but it can also take away our joy and cause us to lose our way.

When I was a young boy my grandfather and I fished in several farm ponds. We had a predetermined plan for every pond, including the fish we hoped to catch, the best bait selection, where we needed to cast, and how much time we needed for the trip.  But the plan never took precedence over the fun, and we always knew our best strategies were no guarantee of success.

If we pray for God to show us the “one” in our lives who needs to know Jesus, He will. But we should be careful not to see our prayer for “one” as some sort of rabbit’s foot that “charms” people into our paths.  Yes, we should pray.  It is also good to have some basic response plans for those moments when we see God move and we have an opportunity to share His love with others.

But we are not in control and prayer is not something we use to manipulate our circumstances. Instead it is an appeal to a sovereign God to guide our steps and open our hearts to His leading.

In less than two weeks the church family I serve will enter into a new lifestyle that involves praying for “one”. I will be preaching a series called “Pray for One” based on a book of the same name by Bo Chancey.

“Pray for One” is more than a sermon series.

“Pray for One” is more than a temporary church focus.

“Pray for One” isn’t an attempt to put ourselves in the driver’s seat with a system or a program.

When we pray for “one” we are asking God to help us see what He is already doing. Every day of our lives God is working to bring believers like us into contact with people who need Jesus.

When we made our decision to follow Jesus, we also accepted His call to share Him with others. Reaching our “one” is already a part of our spiritual DNA.  In a way, learning to pray daily for our one is like gene therapy, as it strengthens our core mission.

Begin praying for your “one.” Remember, your prayer doesn’t put you in control.  Instead, it is your attempt to let God direct your steps.

This doesn’t mean we don’t need to discipline ourselves to pray daily for our “one.” Perhaps we will devise a system to help us in this regard.

Yet, our prayer will be sincere and we will trust God to show us our “one.” There is some “one” in all of our lives who is counting on it.

The Church Gets Ready for “One”

If we are going to pray for “one” person who needs Jesus, we need to be ready to respond to the “one” as events unfold. There are two ways to prepare.

First, we can prepare personally by writing out our testimony and reflecting on our relationship with Jesus. It might help to ask, “Why do I follow Jesus as my Lord and Savior?” and “How does my faith in Jesus help me in life?”  These are broad questions, but if we can articulate our answers, we will be better equipped to enter into a conversation with someone who needs Jesus.

Secondly, we can work with our church family to prepare a shared ministry that leads our “one” closer to Jesus. The church is the Body of Christ, and each of its parts are designed to reflect His love and grace on earth.

This means anything we do as a church, in Jesus’ name, has the potential of leading our “one” or someone else’s “one” to salvation. In fact, when we come together as a church family, we should be as concerned about someone else’s “one” they have been praying for as our “one.”  How can we create a place that is ready for anyone’s “one?”

We can watch out for anyone’s “one”. A few days ago I visited two hardware stores looking for a part to some min-blinds.  In one store, an employee saw me looking at a shelf and called out from the end of the aisle, “Can I help you find something?”  In the other store, I walked toward an employee to ask for help, and when he saw me, he turned and walked away, quickly.  Neither store had what I needed, but the first store showed me they were watching out for me.  A simple greeting or “Can I help you?” can go a long way with anyone’s “one.”

We can be faithful to everyone’s “one” by showing up when we volunteer to serve. When we agree to serve the Lord’s church and we don’t show up, the “ministry fairy” doesn’t come to take our place.  Sometimes emergencies prevent us from serving, but when we fail to serve because we decide we want to do something else at the last-minute, we hurt the mission of the church.  While leaders are trying to address real emergencies, our decision not to show up diminishes the effectiveness of the mission that day and increases the possibility someone’s “one” will be neglected.  When we do this, we also teach others in our family we are the only “ones” who matter.

We can ask God to keep us focused on eternity. I am not saying we should ignore our daily needs, or that we should sit around waiting for Jesus to come.  Actually, we will enjoy life more now when we view it in light of eternity.  When we focus on eternity, we live with purpose, and we are always mindful of the value of every human soul.  Everyone’s “one” matters to us because he or she matters to God.

If we look out for “one”, serve “one” and live for “one”, we are going to be ready for “one.” Pray for your “one” today.  Then get ready.  God has told us in His Word there are many “ones” and I know He will answer our prayers.

And who knows. Your thoughtfulness might be the very thing God uses to make you a part of leading someone’s “one” to the cross.

Do you know Jesus?

I am not against street evangelism. In fact, I’m for about anything that pushes us away from the proverbial “table” and encourages us to share our faith with our world.

About anything.

Not everything.

A few weeks ago I was sitting on a bench on the Atlantic oceanfront with my computer, taking advantage of some free Wi-Fi that was being beamed onto the boardwalk by a local resort. A homeless man walked past me and sat on the bench next to me.  At least I think he was homeless.  He had a couple of plastic bags full of what appeared to be his worldly possessions.  Within seconds a small group of people passed and a tall man reached out to the man on the bench with a small religious tract.  He said, “Here, you might want to read about Jesus tonight.”  As the group walked away, the man on the bench stared at the tract, then laid it aside when his friend came to sit with him.

Several thoughts occurred to me. I wondered if I should interrupt the two men, who were now deep in conversation, and in the spirit of the Evangelist Philip in his encounter with the Ethiopian Eunuch ask, “Do you understand what you are reading?”  It also occurred to me the group has passed me by without giving me a tract.  Did I look like I didn’t needed Jesus, already knew Jesus, or was beyond hope?  But mostly, what I had just witnessed seemed rather cold.

I checked my self-righteous attitude by acknowledging the fact the group had at least addressed the subject of Jesus while I had done nothing. So who am I to judge?

Then just days ago I was on another bench, borrowing a restaurant’s free Wi-Fi, and working on a sermon when a group of teens approached me. They had a brown paper bag and asked me if I wanted some goodies.  I might have had I not just passed through a nearby candy shop and tried every sample in the place (do you see a pattern here?).  They invited me to a movie that was showing up the street and I quickly discerned they were a church youth group drawing people to a Christian event.  I told them I was a believer preparing a sermon and while I appreciated the offer I didn’t want them wasting their gift on me.  I wasn’t being completely honest because a part of me would have liked to have eaten whatever was in the bag.  Then, instead of walking away they asked me if there was anything they could pray about for me.  Believe me, I had plenty of needs at the time, but I graciously told them I was fine and they told me to have a great evening and walked away.

Again, I checked my self-righteous attitude by acknowledging the fact I had refused an offer of prayer because I preferred to live independently at the moment.

Then I began to analyze my experiences. The second experience was certainly better than the first, but why?  Here is what I determined:

In the second experience, I was chosen regardless of how I appeared, or how approachable I seemed. I didn’t feel targeted.

In the second experience, I was offered something I wanted. A goodie in a bag might not have been what I needed, but it sounded good.  In some circles this is called a “felt-need.”  Regardless of the term used, the second group had thought through how they could gain a hearing.

In the second experience, I was told what to do next. I could go to the movie up the street where I would have undoubtedly heard more about Jesus.

In the second experience, a group of teens stopped to talk to me in person and offered to pray for me, even after they found out I already knew the Lord.

Oh, and I should have mentioned. The group on the boardwalk talked and laughed amongst themselves while one man gave out a tract.  In my second experience the whole group of teens stood and listened to my conversation.  I was the center of attention.

These are just small frames of time, and a number of factors could have impacted my perception one way or another. But I am still contemplating my second experience as I think about how I can reach out to the “one” God has prepared for me today.

What do you think you can do to gain a hearing from your “one?”

Job “One”

If you had known “then” what you would be doing “now” would you have made different choices? Would you have taken different courses in school?  Would you have sought out different experiences or acquaintances?  I am sure you have heard the old one-liner, “If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.”

Ideally, we want all of our choices to have a positive impact on our future. Unfortunately, we can’t see tomorrow, so we are left to discern God will and prepare for future events based on the best available knowledge.

However, there are some things we know about the future. We know, if Jesus doesn’t return in our lifetimes, we will die, then pass into eternity.  We also know God has already proclaimed victory over Satan and will hand him his final defeat at the end of time.

And there is one more thing we know…

We know the goal of a Jesus disciple (or kingdom person), is to make more disciples. This single priority changes everything!

It changes my motivation for studying the Word of God. It is possible to become a Bible study junky, traveling from one study to the next in search of a fix.  Don’t misunderstand me.  I am all for studying God’s Word.  I love God’s Word.  It is the lamp that lights my way as it reveals the expressed will of God.  But if I have been left on earth to make more disciples and my study doesn’t seem to be helping me bring people to Jesus, I need a new topic.  In fact, I need a new ultimate priority.  If I put the mission of making disciples first, then I will seek out Biblical knowledge that helps me communicate God’s truth to the people God has brought into my life.  I will avoid endless speculation on topics that are not clearly spelled out in God’s Word.  I will also pay special attention to ways God’s Word draws non-believers to His heart, even as it guides me in the process of spiritual maturity.

It changes my motivation for building relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t want to sit around with my Christian friends and enjoy our common bond in Jesus while the world goes to hell.  I want to be a “comrade”, not a spiritual couch potato.  If I am not always thinking about how the community of the church can attract someone to Jesus, I am missing the point of Acts 2:46-47 which reads, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Relationships in the church should attract people to Jesus.  The Lord wants us to love one another so the world will know what it means to be a disciple (John 13:35).

It changes my motivation for giving to the Lord’s work. Over the past few years my wife and I have shared sacrificial gifts to provide tools for ministry in the local church.  If we had kept the money for the most recent endeavor in our home church, we could have paid for a brand new family vehicle.  But we don’t miss the money or the car.  We are too excited about the ministry tool we have been able to help provide and the people who will be drawn to Christ as a result of the collective gifts of our church family.  Had we given for ourselves, our reward would have consisted of walking in a new building and looking for a way to use it to bring ourselves pleasure.  But instead, we are able to dream about what God is going to do there and how He might use us to produce a spiritual harvest.

When we “Pray for One” we are putting the most important thing first. We are focusing on the reason Jesus has left us here instead of swooping us up into heaven to share with Him now.  We want to mature in God’s Word so we can use it to bring people to Jesus, and reflect His character in everything.  We want a strong church family that can provide a place where the hands and feet of Jesus can be seen by non-believers.  And we want to share our resources to provide anything that might make it easier for people to find Jesus.

Praying for the one person God is going to send into our lives changes everything, including our hearts. And it restores our sense of mission.  Disciples make disciples.  Someone brought us to Jesus.  Someone else needs us to do the same.

Asking Questions

I used to think the only way to share Jesus was to answer people’s questions, whether they were asking them or not! That’s right.  I was a religious “know-it-all.”

Don’t get me wrong. We need to know what the Bible says about salvation, and there is nothing wrong with anticipating questions people should be asking about eternity.  We must be life-long learners, and need to be prepared to defend our faith.  The Apostle Paul wrote, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Col 4:6 NIV)

Still, we don’t ask unbelievers enough questions. Let me explain.

Many years ago, in the town of Dayton, Virginia, the Ruebush-Kiefer Publishing Company was the largest producer of music in the state. The success of the publishing company enriched the entire community, creating growth in the local Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music, and nurtured a thriving environment for writers, poets and musicians.  I recently visited Dayton and was captivated by this incredible story.

Then something changed. A seismic cultural shift occurred that would forever alter the course of Dayton, Virginia.  What was it?

Shapes notes were replaced by round notes.

That’s right. At one time a system of shaped notes (which is a bit too complicated to explain here) was thought to make learning music easier, especially for church congregations.  But when round notes became the rage, people stopped buying the old kind of music.

Unfortunately, the Ruebush-Kiefer Publishing Company used shaped notes. In time, the company went under, the Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music had to move to another town, and many of side benefits of these endeavors in Dayton dried up.

When I learned about this story, I tried to find out why the Ruebush-Kiefer Publishing Company didn’t start printing round notes., but was unsuccessful.  Maybe the investment in new equipment was too great, or perhaps they thought the round notes were a passing fad.  For whatever reason, the company failed to make the trip to the new system, and an entire creative system in a community fell apart.

As believers, we have the greatest message in the world! What could be better than finding redemption from our sins and the gift of eternal life through Jesus?  Our world has never been more hopeless and ready to embrace what we have to give.

But I fear, one reason we aren’t able to share as we should is we are too busy using shaped notes and don’t realize the rest of the world is using round ones. In others words, we have overlooked significant changes in our culture, and don’t comprehend the level of disconnect that exists between our message and people’s hearts and minds.

I am not suggesting we change our message, or water down the truth to appeal to our culture. I merely believe we need to ask more questions.  We need to understand people better if we want to show them how Jesus can change their lives.  Otherwise, they will just smile courteously, and walk away without understanding.

When we Pray for One, we can ask God to teach us to ask more questions. Asking questions is a good way to get to know our “one.”

We might not always agree with what people have to tell us, but at least we will know what’s on their minds. If we don’t know what people are thinking, how can we possibly show them how Christ can meet their need?

Ask more questions. The answers might surprise you.

One Thing Leads to Another

The hand of God works in mysterious ways.  That’s why, when we begin to “Pray for One” we should prepare to be surprised.

Recently, God impressed a need on my heart to open my life up to others at the fitness center I frequent.  I have never been rude to others I meet there, but I haven’t exactly been overly friendly.  My philosophy has always been that if I am working out, I need to work, not talk.  So for years I have hopped on an exercise machine, turned on my kindle and tuned out the rest of the world for an hour and five minutes of my life.

Then God challenged me to “Pray for One”.  Through a series of highly unusual events, after I began praying, He made it clear it was time for me to change.  My first lengthy conversation was with a man I met while attending a service at an area church.  He recognized me as a member of the fitness center and the next time we saw each other there we began to talk.

But he was a believer.  So if I prayed for my “one” and God led me to a believer, what was I to think?  Maybe He was just getting me warmed up.  You know: breaking the ice that had formed around my heart.

Then, last week, my new friend at the fitness center introduced me to an elderly woman he knows.  When she walked away he said, “She’s an atheist.”

Wow!  Maybe, she’s my “one” for now!  Maybe.  Or maybe God is just getting me ready for something else by showing me how blind I have been.  I have been treating the people at the fitness center like nameless stick figures, oblivious to their spiritual needs.

I don’t know what God has in mind.  It is possible my no-nonsense, run and read days at the fitness center are over.  In fact, I am pretty sure of it.

This means I am going to have to give up something else in order for God to answer my prayer for “one.”  It seems He is always asking me to give up something…

…to gain something more.

Does He treat you that way as well?

The Power of a Testimony

When we “Pray for One” we begin to see God’s hand work in new ways.  Actually, these “ways” are not all that new, but the distractions of the world have kept us from seeing them.

Last Sunday in a sermon I shared a personal testimony of how God worked through my visits to my barber to lead someone to His kingdom.  I confessed that I used to use my visits to barbers as a time to “shut down”.  I would close my eyes and say as little as possible.  My barbers seemed to understand and respect my personal space.  Then I met Sue.

Sue actually owns a beauty salon, but I call her my barber.  She wouldn’t let me “shut down”.  When she found out I knew the Lord, she talked more than ever, and when she found out I was a preacher the conversation went off the charts.

It turns out Sue had been praying for many years for her husband to know the Lord better.  One day I met her husband when I was getting my hair cut, and I cross paths with him a few more times over the next few months.  I still remember the morning I walked into the salon to find Sue leaping with excitement because her husband said he was going to come with her to church.

He was there that Sunday.  And he returned.  Several months later Sue’s husband was baptized into Christ.

Every time I think of the opportunity I might have missed to be a part of what God was doing in Sue’s husband’s life, I shudder.  What if I had stayed in “shut down” mode?  What if Sue had prayed for years for her husband to come closer to the Lord, and I had decided the hair salon was the one place I wasn’t going to take my witness seriously?

That’s my testimony, and my message is this: “The person God is about to bring into your life might be the subject of someone’s prayer.”  This truth keeps me motivated because I too have prayed for people in my life I don’t seem to be able to reach.  If God prompts someone else to speak to the people I have prayed for, I don’t want them to “shut down.”  I want them to “open up.”  I need them to take their witness seriously.

Who has God brought into your life today?  Do you suppose your “one” is the subject of someone’s prayer?

Nothing can grow without a seed

There are two major metaphors Jesus used to encourage us in soul-winning. The first is fishing. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew He promised them He would make them “Fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).

There is one undeniable truth every angler who has ever stood on a bank untangling his line can tell you.  You aren’t going to catch fish if you don’t have your line in the water.

The same thing is true of Jesus’ other metaphor of growing crops: you aren’t going to have a harvest if you don’t plant seeds. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Paul planted, Apollos watered and God made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Strange but true. Nothing grows without God and nothing grows unless we plant a seed. We are on this mission of soul-winning together with God. That’s how He wants it. Otherwise He would raise the crop by Himself.

I spent time on a farm as a kid. Nothing is worse than working in the field with someone who isn’t pulling his weight. Well, maybe one thing is worse: working with someone who is complaining instead of pulling his weight.

There are many ways to plant seeds, but most of the time we do it with a kind act or gracious spirit, followed by a conversation seasoned with salt. Every time I am told someone from the church family I serve did something incredibly kind in our community, I beam from ear to ear! It’s great to know people aren’t goofing off or complaining about the work. They are busy planting.

Today, I challenge you to pray that God will send one person into your life who needs His grace planted.  Then, when God moves, plant! Sometimes seasons are short and you need to get the seed in the ground when the time is right.

I am certain God has a soul in mind. “Pray for One.”

Then be ready when God moves!

Growing Kingdom People – Pray for One

Today, our Growing Kingdom People blog post shifts to a new focus, or rather a more specific focus. In past blogs I have reflected on how kingdom thinking impacts our perspective on current events.  Now it is time to think about how the way we think changes how we view individuals.

Some time ago the Manchester Christian Church in Manchester, New Hampshire started to “pray for one”, at the prompting of their Senior Pastor Bo Chancey. The mindset of the church began an immediate transformation.

What was their prayer and who was their “one?” The “one” was someone God might be bringing into the lives of members (or regular attenders) at any given moment, and the prayer was that something might be said or done to bring that “one” to know Jesus.

Through our Growing Kingdom People blog, we are going to begin the process of praying for “one.” Realize, this doesn’t mean there is just “one” person in our lives who needs Jesus.  But there is “one” on God’s mind at any given moment who might be influenced in the direction of Jesus by something we say or do.

Here are some “one” facts:

The person you have been praying for in your life may not be the “one” you will reach for Jesus. Many of us have someone we care about we have been trying to lead to Jesus for years. It is highly possible God will use someone else to say or do something that will make the difference. Keep praying for your loved one, but also begin to think about others in your life who need Jesus. Pray that God will show you your “one.”

There is more than one “one.” The “Pray for One” mindset the church in Manchester adopted was perpetual. After God showed some people their “one” and a soul was brought to Jesus, He began showing them another “one”, and will continue to do so for their rest of their lives.

Praying for one changes how we think about everyone. One of our church elders has begun praying for “one” and has already seen his prayer change his attitude toward others. Recently, when his patience was tested by a client he said, “What if this is my “one?” This simple question changed everything and he began to look at everything he said and did as an open door for the gospel.

The “one” you reach might be someone else’s loved one. Somewhere a parent, spouse or child is praying for a loved one to come to Jesus. They had tried everything, but perhaps their familiarity has made it more difficult for the person they love to receive the gospel from them. Your prayer for your “one” might lead you to do or say something that will finally make the difference.

Our prayer for “one” fits our Growing Kingdom People vision perfectly.  A farmer or gardener can do a lot of things to make plants grow, but nothing is going to happen until the seed is planted.  Praying for “one” and looking for opportunities to plant spiritual seeds for Jesus is where Growing Kingdom People begins.

I know this shift in my blog emphasis might catch you by surprise. You might have been hoping for a commentary on a current event.  Current events are important, and the kingdom that grows within God’s people can make a difference in a broken world.  But it all starts with “one”, therefore, we are going to begin praying for “one.”

And so, even if it seems a bit sudden, would you join me right now and pray, “Lord lead me to my one today?”

(Insert prayer)

Now, see what God does today, in you and through you…

…when you pray for “one.”