Recently, my friend Matt Dawson was describing his generation and his journey in New Zealand. He made two comments that I think were powerfully instructive in applying them to Pray the City.
One of the things he said was that God was not allowing any communities to be built without love as the center. Love must be central to all we pursue together. Passionate love for God, love for His Word, and love for each other. We will have to contend for love to be center. It will not just happen. Life has a way of conspiring to put love aside for our perceptions of truth.
The fact is that people have differences with each other. Those differences separate. That disunity thwarts God's Holy ambitions for a geography. Some of us came out of the womb with a peace pipe. We are diplomats, and we're always wanting to build bridges of understanding. Others came out of womb with a sword. They see everything in terms of the enemy or us. Life is war. We need warriors, and we need diplomats. Yet these are often the very places where division occurs. Many times it's just a personality difference, or a slight theological difference, or a taste preference, but our love for God and each other has to be greater than our differences. We must keep love as the center, and honor the difference as a strength.
If we are to be a community of friends encouraging prayer everywhere, we will have to contend to be offense free zones. We will have to be diligent to not be separated from each other by our separate callings being a point of division.
Matt said another phrase that stuck with me. He said this generation wants the older generation involved with them, but not to control. For my generation (over 50), this will be an art with a steep learning curve. We've got experience, sometimes we have wisdom from that experience, but we need to be present without needing to be platformed. We need to be available for advice but not giving it unsolicited. We need to adopt an indigenous model where the grandma's and grandpa's and mama's and papa's are sought out because they are loved and respected, not because they have the keys to buildings, or can grant permission to open doors. I'd like to urge you if you're from my generation to use your last breath to breathe on the fire God is kindling in this new generation of worshipers. Wrap your arms around them, pray for them as if they were your own children. Encourage them often. Keep love the center.
One of the things he said was that God was not allowing any communities to be built without love as the center. Love must be central to all we pursue together. Passionate love for God, love for His Word, and love for each other. We will have to contend for love to be center. It will not just happen. Life has a way of conspiring to put love aside for our perceptions of truth.
The fact is that people have differences with each other. Those differences separate. That disunity thwarts God's Holy ambitions for a geography. Some of us came out of the womb with a peace pipe. We are diplomats, and we're always wanting to build bridges of understanding. Others came out of womb with a sword. They see everything in terms of the enemy or us. Life is war. We need warriors, and we need diplomats. Yet these are often the very places where division occurs. Many times it's just a personality difference, or a slight theological difference, or a taste preference, but our love for God and each other has to be greater than our differences. We must keep love as the center, and honor the difference as a strength.
If we are to be a community of friends encouraging prayer everywhere, we will have to contend to be offense free zones. We will have to be diligent to not be separated from each other by our separate callings being a point of division.
Matt said another phrase that stuck with me. He said this generation wants the older generation involved with them, but not to control. For my generation (over 50), this will be an art with a steep learning curve. We've got experience, sometimes we have wisdom from that experience, but we need to be present without needing to be platformed. We need to be available for advice but not giving it unsolicited. We need to adopt an indigenous model where the grandma's and grandpa's and mama's and papa's are sought out because they are loved and respected, not because they have the keys to buildings, or can grant permission to open doors. I'd like to urge you if you're from my generation to use your last breath to breathe on the fire God is kindling in this new generation of worshipers. Wrap your arms around them, pray for them as if they were your own children. Encourage them often. Keep love the center.