The Worship Center ready to go for our #prayingchurch experience tonight @thefellowshipcc TR campus. twitter.com/jgriffinlive/s…

— John Griffin (@jgriffinlive) May 22, 2013

Periodically, we gather for a congregational service of directed prayer. For this time, the staff members put together more a journey than a service. Our people were encouraged to participate however would be most beneficial at the moment; as an individual, couple, families, or groups of friends. It was wonderful to see an array of ages, teenagers praying together, couples weeping at Communion tables, families kneeling together in the sanctuary.

It all reminded me of the journey that Patrick took when he felt called back to Ireland. He followed the call of God to evangelize the people that once held him as a slave. It is a fascinating thought: a man freed from being a prisoner of war returns to his oppressors to deliver a greater freedom to them.

This prayer is often called “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” because of those parts of it which seek God’s protection.  It is also sometimes called “The Deer’s Cry” or the “Lorica.” According to tradition, St. Patrick Uttered it while on his way to Tara, where he was for the first time to confront the power of the Pagan High-King of Ireland. Assassins were in wait for him and his companions, but as he chanted the hymn it seemed to the hidden band that a herd of deer went by.

Perhaps it will be useful in your day as you face a world that seeks to hold you captive while you seek to deliver it to freedom.

The Breastplate of St. Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Taken from http://prayerfoundation.org/st_patricks_breastplate_prayer.htm

Each week, we hope that our sermon will be a homerun. However, I’ve hit a lot more singles and doubles than triples. I’ve hit even fewer homeruns. In all honesty, there are many Sundays my sermon feels like a poorly executed bunt that I have to hustle out to first base. So what are you to do when you just hit a single?

Remember, to begin with, it was not your sermon. The truth you are proclaiming is not your truth. It is God’s message to God’s people and those He is calling into submission to His sovereignty. It is easy to slip into an ownership mode about the sermon. After all, we tell stories about our family, our life, our struggles, and our walk with Christ. But none of “us” should be the centerpiece of the message. It is His truth about Him.

Stop allowing your identity to be wrapped up in your performance. So you hit a single. God is still God. You are still you. Remember the counsel that you give out so quickly to machinists, stay-at-home moms, engineers, and students: “Your work does not define you. Christ now defines your identity.” Seek to do all of your work as unto the Lord and remember the respective roles in the proclamation of the gospel. As the old adage goes, we are just beggars telling other beggars where to find bread.

Pray more for the effect of the truth than the delivery of your message. As you prepare for the message, spend more time praying for the people who hear it than for the lips who speak it. We must not fall prey to the temptation that our words will be the deciding factor over someone’s daily decisions or eternal destination. This is not to dissuade you from praying for yourself through the process. It is, however, to make your focus on the God who moves in the life of all people, including the preacher.

Accept your fallibility. I hate to stumble through a phrase or tell a bad joke or fail to connect with a crowd. Last Sunday, I misspoke during my message and said “awoken” when I meant to say “awaken.” I hate doing stuff like that. As much as I hate it, my church family actually loves it. For many preachers, true or not, you are perceived to be the smartest person in the room. Telling the occasional lame duck joke or mispronouncing a biblical name is actually endearing. When we move off the need to be the smartest person in the room, perhaps, just perhaps, God will shine brighter because of our humility.

Expect the proper response. Our focus should be on life-change because people saw Jesus, not heard from a preacher. In my life, I am trying to focus more on the response of people to the overall act of worship which has the Scriptures as its center point rather than to my witty banter. The truth is the truth no matter what. So, if your outline was not memorable and your voice cracked, it does not matter. The question we must ask is: “Did I state the truth of God’s Word and ask people to respond to it?”

Commit yourself to serving Christ and His church well. In no way do I want to excuse myself or you from poor preparation or shoddy workmanship. When last Sunday seemed like it fell short, then do what you know must be done. Pray more diligently. Meditate on the Word with greater eagerness. Ask for the filling of the Spirit with more desperation. Seek godly counsel from pastors who have walked this road longer than you. Whatever you do, do not settle for being a poor workman before God and His Word.

Singles happen. In fact, in baseball, they are normative for any team. But they must not be satisfactory. In our work of proclamation, we should expect the supernatural to occur in people’s lives. I want to see people radically transformed by the power of the gospel as often as possible. So, let’s go about our work with earnestness seeking the power of the gospel for the good of all people. Swing for the fences and allow God to do His work. Remember, sometimes you sow seeds, sometimes you water what you cannot see is already planted, and sometimes you get to do the harvesting. Whatever our role each week, savor the work of Christ done in you.

Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Recently, I shared with our church five changes and one empowering reminder that we need to keep in mind if we are to follow Christ’s commission to us.

Change #1: Move from working as campus chaplains to advancing as kingdom missionaries

• Churches are not to hide on campuses.
• We are told to “go” or “as you are going.”
• Wherever people are is where we are to be.
• The church campus and gatherings serve as launching pads, not as a monastery.

Change #2: Move from participating in religious programs to becoming lifestyle disciple-makers

• Programs are the paths of least resistance because disciple making is mess.
• Programmatic growth is the last vestige for sterile ministries.
• We want relationships that result in eternal transformations.

Change #3: Move from a perceived home field to active global engagement

• The mission of God includes our community but does not end with our community.
• God calls the church to the world.
• God calls our church to be a global sending center.
• God calls every believer to be a global missionary.

Change #4: Move from creating consumers of religion to community builders of the church

• Baptism is the public declaration that you have surrendered your life before God’s sovereignty.
• It is secondarily a public alignment with the church family.

Change #5: Move from being knowledge junkies to Jesus followers

• Too often, our knowledge has outpaced our obedience.
• It is easier to desire behavior modification from masters of biblical trivial pursuit. But that is not discipleship.
• “The gospel of sin management has produced vampire Christians who want Jesus for his blood and little else.” – Dallas Willard
• Jesus wants followers. He began the apostles’ work with “Come” and ended his training with “Go.”
• The gospel gives us the beautiful potential to be people who imitate Jesus.

 One Empowering Reminder: The authority and presence of Jesus is what makes all of this a reality.

• Jesus has all of the authority and promised to never desert us.
• None of the five changes are possible by our own wit and self-determination. Jesus, however, loves to do the impossible.

The Multiply Website is a central hub that contains resources to help you as you make disciples.

The Multiply Material is a 24-session discipleship experience where one person helps another understand what it means to follow Jesus, study scripture, and be the church. This material is available online and includes coaching videos and additional resources to assist you as you study through the course.

The Multiply Gathering is a once-a-year simulcast with Francis Chan and David Platt that fuels the purpose of Multiply. We want to gather together with other followers of Christ in their local churches and homes and encourage one another in the disciple-making process.

The Story Behind Multiply from Multiply on Vimeo.

Reflections on a Mother’s Prayer by Kristyn Getty

In the spring of 2008 I first prayed for a baby, and in the spring of 2011 God answered that prayer with the birth of our beautiful daughter. My joy was full but so were the fears I wrestled. In some ways I felt like a baby Christian again, caught in a whirlwind of emotions, learning and applying what I have known and trusted into a completely new life – I know I’m definitely not the first to feel that!

Friends of ours had given us a card when their first son was born; it was full of prayer requests for his little life, a prayer for every day of the month. My prayers were not quite as coherent as those, especially at first, but the urgency of the moment drove me to my knees. “Help her, help me” baby prayers at 3am; prayers as I heard the baby monitor light up in the morning; prayers when I thought of her safety, her soul, her future; prayers with my husband; prayers while Eliza listened in.

When people found out that I was pregnant one of the most frequent comments I received was how my creativity would discover a whole new vista of inspiration as I became a mother. So, when Eliza came I was anticipating a fresh flow of profound poetic thought, but instead I was swept up in the constant flow of changes and feedings and “Old MacDonald had a farm!” I was expecting full sentences, but I was blubbering looking at my beautiful girl! I actually wondered if I’d ever be able to write again. I just about tucked some thoughts away to ponder later when my brain would start to fit itself back together again (still nowhere near a completed process!). As I continued to learn the wonderful balancing act and privilege of mothering, homemaking, writing, traveling and singing, Keith and I began to write a song for Eliza choosing this theme of praying for her, and the end result was “A Mother’s Prayer.”

My parents have faithfully prayed for me my whole life, and I remember when I was younger my mum met with other mums to pray for all their children – a “Moms in Touch” group in Belfast. Even just the knowledge of that helped me, and I want Eliza to know we are praying for her and trying to guide her in this context that reaches to the call and purpose of her whole life and an understanding of the Lord’s grace and faithfulness. We’re now in the toddler stage and some of the prayer needs are shifting. We wanted the song to reflect the different seasons – ones we had discovered and then those still to come. We also wrote it to remind us of our promise to pray for her through all the years we’re given. We hope this song for her – and even more our praying for her – might catch her ear and help guide her heart as she grows up.

Encourage someone: Send a FREE eCard containing this song - www.Gettymusic.com/ecard.aspx

Biography

Keith and Kristyn Getty, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, have been writing modern hymns for the church for more than a decade. Their latest album release, Hymns for the Christian Life, features new hymns for congregations and soloists such as “Christ Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed” and “A Mother’s Prayer” as well as a ten-year anniversary recording of ”In Christ Alone” (written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend). When not touring, the Gettys live in Nashville with their daughter, Eliza, where they manage the work of Getty Music.

[outrageous and borderline offensive tweet]

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 29, 2013

[expression of surprise that outrageous/borderline offensive tweet resulted in outrage/offense; failed attempt to clarify/calm waters]

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 29, 2013

[impugning of twitter and outraged tweeps disjointedly combined with hint of regret for original outrageous/borderline offensive tweet]

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 29, 2013

[attempt to re-state original outrageous/borderline offensive tweet with more benign language though hostile idea remains intact/clear]

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 29, 2013

[apology and explanation of deletion of earlier outrageous/borderline offensive tweet]

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 29, 2013

[Obvious attempt to change subject]

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 29, 2013

[individualized expressions of thanks and appreciation for defenders]

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 29, 2013

So… if you ever wondered what Twitter is all about… now you know.

On May 8, some of my friends will try to answer this question in the webcast “Why Aren’t More People in Your Groups?”

The webcast will be hosted by Eric Geiger. It will include three great leaders in the church today: Ronnie Floyd, Ron Edmondson, and Pete Wilson. During the short webcast, the guys will talk about three distinct ideas that are foundational to the Bible Studies for Life project and how it can help your church.

Join us on May 8 at 12:00 noon CST for this brief but helpful time to hear how your church can benefit from these ideas.

To register for the free webcast, just click here.  And here is an invite from Pete Wilson.

According to Etsy: “Korehira Watanabe is one of the last remaining Japanese swordsmiths. He has spent 40 years honing his craft in an attempt to recreate Koto, a type of sword that dates back to the Heian and Kamakura periods (794-1333 AD). No documents remain to provide context for Watanabe’s quest, but he believes he has come close to creating a replica of this mythical samurai sword.”

Watch this video and then consider some of the thoughts below.

In thinking through our basic mission as Christians, the making of new disciples is inherent to what we do. In fact, it is inherent to who we now are. The short video and words from Watanabe offers three important principles for making disciples.

1. Surpassing

“I want my disciple to surpass me as a sword maker. It is my duty to build up a disciple better than me. Otherwise, the tradition will wear thin with time.”

Watanabe has sought to build on what he learned from the past historical masters of sword makers. Too many of us have been satisfied with making copies from the past. We should hold a healthy respect of those who have preceded us in the history of the church. However, we cannot simply emulate their lives and ministries. We should seek to not simply be the same but to build upon what they have done. Our churches should strive to aid new believers to to surpass anything that we have currently achieved in mission and ministry.

2. Passion

“What I received from my master is not only the technique but also his passion for sword making. I want my disciple to receive my passion.”

Disciple making is about the heart, mind, and behavior. However, growing intellectually theological and behaviorally moral will both come to an end if the heart does not precede them. Watanabe understands this truth. With his disciple Kikuchi, his desire is to see passion first with the understanding that skill will follow. In our development of spiritual maturity in others, we must position love as the central discipline of life. Participating in mission will naturally follow the heart.

3. Multiplicative

“I believe he will pass down his own passion for sword making to the next generations.”

The principles of surpassing and passion discipleship result in a multiplicative form of discipleship. Engendering heart and a desire for progress will lead to a multiplicative mindset. It is important to see that Watanabe did not simply want to make Kikuchi a disciple of sword making. He intends Kikuchi to be a discipler of other sword makers. It is the same attitude taught to Timothy by the apostle Paul when he wrote, “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2, HCSB). As we go about the mission of God, it should be to be disciple makers making disciple makers. One generation of learning is never the goal. Our intention must be to see God’s rule and fame stretch through every generation.

Patience. You are dealing with people, including yourself. We change relatively slowly. You are in it for the long haul. Act like it. Lead like you are going to be here for good instead of always having a “quick getaway” in the back of your mind.

Celebrate. As leaders, we are always looking for the next thing to do, get done, and lead others to do. You must make yourself celebrate everything you can. In fact, you need to celebrate longer than you normally think is necessary.

Keep working on relationships. They are the real fuel for progress. When you grow tired of ramping up programs and events, spend more time with people. When you are not tired of ramping up programs and events, this is when you really need to spend more time with people.

More Bible and prayer. Oddly, pastors are sometimes terribly neglectful of personal devotional time. Do not look at the whole of your life as your devotional life before the Lord. A phrase I learned from Henry Blackaby was to spend “unhurried time with the Lord.”

Take a day off… really. You need the break. The church, the office, and the world will keep spinning on its axis even if you are not around. We teach the practice and principle of the Sabbath constantly. It is time to practice it as well.