One hundred
and eighty people gathered in North Carolina for four days in October to go
three- by-three to meet with state leaders in every county in the state. This
Adventure was modeled after Luke 10 where Jesus sent out the sometimes
scaredy-cat 72 disciples two-by-two to every town to pray and lift up Jesus’
name. Wow ... what an opportunity and privilege.
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| I met with leaders in Surf City, NC |
I flew in
from New Orleans and didn’t know anyone. I left North Carolina understanding
the power in multiple bands of three brothers stepping out in faith. I expected
we would be handed a script to use with our conversations … we were reminded
the Holy Spirit would give us the words. I expected we would have pre-arranged
appointments set up for us … we were led only by God in every town and to every
person. I thought we would sleep in hotels ... God provided the home of a man
and woman of peace (and we didn’t have to shake off the dust from our feet). I
expected to see North Carolina … but Jesus led us to see the plentiful harvest
and not look through, past or by human beings … to truly see them. Jesus blew
up all of my expectations and I was left with nothing … but Jesus. Guess what?
He was enough.
The power of
three going out in Jesus’ name yielded open doors in every town … mayors,
county managers, half-way houses, Indian reservations, jails, police chiefs,
parks, college presidents, churches, etc. Leaders and people were asked, “What
is your biggest problem?” The reoccurring themes were - Racial division, lack
of housing, the churches are divided, Meth, lack of peace, and people
complaining. Everyone sensed the trouble in our nation and local communities
was bigger and deeper than what Republicans, Democrats or Organized Religion
could solve. I met the head of the North Carolina Supreme Court. In response to
the problems in the state, he said, “We are just putting our fingers in the
dykes, and we are running out of fingers to plug the holes.”
Our message
of hope to every leader and person was that there is a solution for our human
predicament. The solution is in the only
Leader who can transform a human heart and bring about real reconciliation.
His name is Jesus. We didn’t say the answer was in Christianity but in Christ.
The answer is not throwing stones, demonizing, endless complaining, but lifting
up the name of Jesus and learning to love God and love people in a Jesus
fashion. This has the power to bring about a great awakening of one or even a
nation. One young 6’5”, rough around the edges, country boy said it this way,
“Everybody just read the book with red letters and everything will be OK.”
We didn’t get
booted out of any public official’s office. People were intrigued, curious and
drawn to Jesus. Leaders everywhere were exhorted to start little groups in their
offices, or a coffee shop, and get to know the real Jesus. A fire got lit in
North Carolina. May it spread? Now I will go out two-by-two in Louisiana. How
about you? Check out Luke 10 yourself.
Divine Appointment
You never
know when God will bring a divine appointment. This happened the other day:
Stranger: You
look familiar. Where are you from?
Me: New Orleans
Stranger: I’m
from New Orleans, too.
(It turns out
we didn’t know each other. He asked what I was doing and I summed it up in a
sentence.)
Stranger: I
don’t want to talk to anyone about Christianity!
Me: It sounds like you
have had a very bad experience with Christianity.
Stranger: When
I was 12 years old my parents divorced and all three of us got excommunicated
from the church!
Me: Sometimes I don’t
like talking about Christianity either. Would it be alright if I talked to you
about Jesus?
Stranger: Oh,
that will be okay.
Me: One thing I know
for sure … Jesus would never have excommunicated a 12-year-old boy from His
church. I’m so sorry that happened to you. I know Jesus cares about you and
wants to have a relationship with you.
(Off we went
into a wonderful conversation about Jesus. Jesus wasn’t a Christian; he was a
Jew. We don’t pray in Christianity’s name but in Jesus’ name. The gospel is the
good news of Jesus, 1 Cor. 15:1-4)
Prayer for Colorado
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| Leaders from Estes Park and Longmont |
A couple of
weeks ago eight leaders who have faced devastation from the recent floods in
Colorado, flew in to Louisiana. The leaders from Estes Park recounted the
damage, and leaders from the Longmont area spoke of a town being washed away
and losing their entire church building. They asked me to come preach and meet
with community pastor/leaders. My aim was to encourage these leaders by sharing
our Katrina story and put a copy of my book in their hands. Pray. May God work
His exploits and faithfulness like He did in our times of anguish. I am still convinced that God works great
works in the middle of disasters.
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| Estes Park, Colorado |
Betting the
Farm on God,
Michael
