As the pastor of midtown, one of my goals is to see everyone included in a lifegroup that is tracking with the things that we hold as core values at Calvary. Sort of like what’s presented in this video…
Or not.
In fact, our lifegroup experienced the polar opposite of what you just saw tonight. Colin led us in a couple of songs that set the tone for some sharing, and I felt the Holy Spirit nudging us to take a risk, to let down our masks and be real. I’ll be honest with you–it was a little scary stepping into the waters of vulnerability. It’s much easier to say the right words and act like everything’s ok. And there’s the whole pride/fear/embarrassment/what if someone finds out that I’m not perfect thing that rolls through my head…
We want to be the kind of church/lifegroup where it’s ok not to be ok. But it’s not ok to pretend that I’m ok, or to stay in that “not ok” place. God created us for community, to belong with each other. That calls for openness, honesty, love, and the risk of sharing our hurts and sins.
James wrote a letter to the church, ironically called The Letter from James (I know–incredible creativity on display!) At the end of the letter he laid down these words:
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Tonight we practiced this instruction. We confessed our sins (or hurts) to one another and prayed for each other. It was messy and time consuming and difficult and weighty. We ran through a whole pack of kleenex! But I believe that there is a breakthrough coming for those of us who are willing to step out of the shadow of pride/fear/etc and drag that junk out into the light.
There’s another step listed for the church there, too. If you’re sick, you’re supposed to call the elders of the church to come anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and have them pray over you. We do that at Calvary. We don’t have elders by name, but there is a team of spiritual leaders at Calvary who function as elders. We also have a team of people gifted in discernment and spiritual warfare who meet with people to pray for breakthrough.
If you’re stuck in a rut and can’t seem to rise above the junk, why don’t you drop me a line. I believe that God is still in the breakthrough business. It’s not easy, but it sure is good.
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