Preparing Leaders for Reflection and Prayer Days and Short Retreats

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Preparing Leaders for Reflection and Prayer Days and Short Retreats

U. S Session: May 13–22, 2009

In the U. S.: May 13-22, 2009 at White Oak Conference Center near Charlotte, NC

Lead Facilitator: Dr. Evelyn C. Davis, International Training Consultant

Worship Leaders, Topic Facilitators, and Prayer Coordinators will be announced

Thank you for your interest in the training that will prepare you to facilitate half or full days of reflection and prayer, and short retreats. The total time for the training is ten days. Arrival time is the first day by noon or early afternoon (our first session is at 3:30 p.m.). Departure is on the last day before noon (after the concluding evaluation and prayer session). Detailed information about the location is given below, and the application form is on page 3. Send your application to evelyn_davis@sil.org and contact her if you have any questions or comments.

Location: The White Oak Conference Center is approximately 1½ hours drive from the Charlotte airport, and

airport pickups and transportation to White Oak will be arranged. If you are a member of SIL or

Wycliffe, and want to be at our JAARS Center near Waxhaw for a period of time before the training,

we will arrange transportation from there as well (White Oak is an hour’s drive from JAARS).

If flying, you will need to arrange your flight to arrive in Charlotte by noon or earlier on Wednesday,

May 13, as we must arrive at White Oak in time for you to get settled in your room and ready for our

first session, which begins at 3:30 p.m. During the first afternoon, there will be introductions, sharing,

and an overview of the training. Our first meal is Wednesday evening, and we will have a time of

prayer and communion after dinner.

On our final morning, Friday, May 22, we will conclude with a time of evaluation, communion, and

prayer, and leave White Oak at approximately 11:00 a.m. Since it is a 1½ hour drive to the Charlotte

airport, be sure to arrange your flight home early-afternoon or later.

Schedule: Day One—Afternoon and Evening: We will begin at 3:30 p.m. with introductions, sharing, and an

overview of the sessions. After dinner that night we will have prayer and communion.

Day Two: Experience one of the reflection topics (listed on the overview on page 2).

Day Three: Work in a small group led by a staff member to experience (and then study and

prepare to present) one of the other reflection or retreat topics.

Days Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eight: Each group presents the topic that they have prepared

(so that they will have an opportunity to practice how to use the topics later). Everyone

experiences each topic.

Day Nine: Teaching sessions designed to prepare you for praying with and for individuals and

groups when you return to your place of service.

Day Ten—Departure approx. 11:00 a.m.: Closing worship time, evaluation, sharing, and praying.

Other: Quality time will be allowed for you to peruse the books and other resources that will be available.

There will be a few evening activities, including an overview of how to lead prayer times, a fun

night, and sharing what God has done during your time of reflection and prayer. There will also be

opportunities for personal ministry and appointments with the prayer coordinators.

An Exciting Development: We now have an interactive website, and participants who take the R & P training

can make it into an R & P life-style! We will introduce the website during the training sessions, and

as participants return to their place of ministry, they will be able to share through this website how

God is using R & P in their own lives and, through them, in others’ lives. The website will also serve

as a prayer hub, and the place where all former R & P participants can access updated materials.

Cost: $675.00 for accommodations (double occupancy), meals, a notebook of the topics, copies of the

retreat manuals, and the basic resources. There is a daily surcharge of $16.00 for single occupancy,

and $75.00 of the above amount is required for registration. Because of a grant that has been

received, some financial assistance will be available if that is needed. Note additional details about

payment on the application form.

To Register: The number of participants is limited, and persons who attend must be recommended by their

branch or entity (if WBT/ SIL), or by their mission, church, or agency (if not WBT/SIL). Fill out the

application form (page 3), and return it electronically to evelyn_davis@sil.org. Please do not return

pages 1 and 2. Send your application as soon as possible, and note that March 14 is the final deadline.

Overview: Reflection and Prayer Days and Short Retreats

Evelyn C. Davis, Ed. D., Training Consultant, SIL International

The Topics for Reflection and Prayer Days

A half-day or full-day of reflection and prayer begins with worship and singing, then there is a brief overview of the topic the group has chosen. Handouts describe the topic, with Bible verses for reference, thought questions for application, articles, and a special Resources booklet. There is time for personal reflection and prayer, then the option of praying with someone else or continuing with individual reflection. There is a time of closure, with an opportunity to share.

. A Spiritual Inventory and Spiritual Markers

It is helpful to identify spiritual markers in our lives—times when we have encountered God’s call or his direction. Then when we face new options and/or decisions, we can review our spiritual markers to be reminded of the context of the activity of God in our lives—his perspective for our past, our present, and our future.

. Personal Worship

Individuals can use these guidelines (with scriptures) that focus on the following steps: worship; attentiveness; approach the throne; submit to God; confession and forgiveness; prayer for personal protection; guidance; special needs; petitions for yourself, family, friends, church, others; put on Christ and commit the day to him; walk in triumph, freedom, and safety.

. Finding A Rhythm of Rest

We struggle with trying to find time for a real ‘Sabbath’—a time to take our hands from the plow, let our work lay fallow, and let God and others take care of things. However, it is finding that balance point at which, having rested, we do our work with greater ease and joy, and bring healing and delight to our endeavors—for when we are refreshed we can give more generously to others. Jesus found special times to be with the Father, and to pray. May we follow his example.

. Life Tasks: Strength for the Journey

There are six life tasks that all adults encounter, with a different emphasis on each during the various decades of life. You will focus on the one(s) that you choose. The tasks are: The Self, Identity (who am I?); Relationships, Intimacy (who will be with me?); Work, Accomplishment (what will I do?); Health, Wholeness, Freedom (can I achieve balance?); Faith, Spiritual Vitality (will my journey be meaningful?); and Commitment, Contribution (can I make a difference?).

. Our Time of Need

What are you currently dealing with? Various points of need are listed (with related Bible verses) and there is space to add other needs. You will choose which area(s) to focus on, and pray about. Examples are: unmet needs; struggling with relinquishment; disappointments and discouragements; going through a barren time; health issues; family concerns; praying for a lost friend or a family member; carrying a heavy burden.

. Prayer Areas and Issues

This topic focuses on specific prayer areas and issues such as bearing fruit; Bible study and prayer; finances; future direction and decisions; health, home and family; relationships; rest and renewal; restoration of life and ministry; seeking the Lord’s power, strength, and wisdom; service; and submitting to him. There are related Bible verses, questions for reflection, and short readings.

. The Servant Leader (separate booklet)

Jesus demonstrated the fact that a leader is called to be a servant. The materials describe what leaders must do to follow Jesus’ example. First there must be a servant heart—leadership character; then a servant head—leadership methods; next servant hands—leadership behavior, and most important, servant habits—leadership commitment and renewal.

The Topics for Short Retreats

These short retreats can be offered to groups over a weekend, or in sessions over a period of several weeks.

. Life Passages and The Missionary Experience

How do our missionary experiences impact on the usual life passages? And how can we find the necessary joy and strength to sustain us? An overview of this retreat will be experienced on the same day the group focuses on the Reflection and Prayer topic Life Tasks. A set of guidelines for leading the retreat is included with the manual.

. New Testament Images of Adult Growth and Change

What can we discover about the adult learning process from Biblical images? They have important implications for ways we discover spiritual truth, and how our faith can develop and grow. The six images are New Wine, The Body, The Blowing Wind, The Yoke, The Grain of Wheat, and The Bread and Cup.

Overview of the Let’s Pray! Manual (authors: Fran Woods, Chesley (Tiny) and Ruth Ray)

The manual provides instruction in facilitating ministry prayer. The Bible lays a strong foundation for healing prayer, and there is a great need for healing in the church and in society. Steps to follow in the facilitation of ministry prayer are listed, with example prayers, worksheets, and other articles and resources to help prepare one to facilitate prayer both individually and in groups.

Application Form

Preparing Leaders for Reflection and Prayer Days and Short Retreats

May 13–22, 2009 at White Oak Conference Center

Return the application form electronically to evelyn_davis@sil.org (not pages 1 and 2). Please request the

persons sending references to forward those electronically.

General Information (use more space if needed)

Name ______________________________________________ Serving Where? _________________________

Address ___________________________________________________ E-mail __________________________

Land Line phone __________________ Mobile phone _____________ Fax Number ______________________

If the session of your preference is full by the time we receive your application and references, are you interested

in attending in May, 2010? ________________________

Is a double room acceptable? _______Or do you prefer a single room? _______ ($16 daily surcharge for a single)

How Long a Member of Wycliffe/SIL? _______________ How Long Serving in Current Entity? ____________

If not Wycliffe/SIL, work with ________________________________________ For How Long? ____________

Current Job _______________________________________________________ For How Long? ____________

Describe your job responsibilities _______________________________________________________________

What do you like best about your current job?

What do you wish could be different? ____________________________________________________________

In what other places have you served? ____________________________________________________________

What job(s) did you have? _____________________________________________________________________

Training Focus (use more space if needed)

What is your background in education and/or training (formal and/or informal course work, seminars, etc.)?

What is your background in teaching and/or the delivery of training? ___________________________________

What interests you most in considering the possibility of attending the Reflection and Prayer/Retreat training?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Could you use this training in your current position? ________________________________________________

If not in your current position, how do you envision that this training might be useful? _____________________

Are you willing to make a commitment to try to begin offering days of R & P after the training? ______________

The Reflection and Prayer Web Site

In view of the fact that most of the expenses for this training are covered by a scholarship fund, and that the vision for

the training is to get people engaged in a lifestyle of reflection and prayer and then to help others do this also, are you

willing to make an on-going commitment to interact with other participants on the reflection and prayer website?

__________. Note: Betsy Hopkins, a former participant and staff member, is the current coordinator of the site. If you

have any questions about this aspect of the R & P training, before answering the above question, do contact her at

betsy_hopkins@sil.org If you have limited computer or internet access, we can work with you in other ways to include

you in the on-going ministry of sharing R & P with other participants.

Any comments, questions, etc. _______________________________________________________________________

Finances

If you are requesting financial assistance, please explain why and indicate how much is needed.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

List the name (and number) of the account that should be charged the $75.00 registration fee after your acceptance,

and also for any balance due after financial assistance is arranged _______________________________________

If you are not a member of Wycliffe, please mail a check for the registration fee (made out to SIL International)

to Dr. Evelyn Davis, 18 Winding Poplar Road, Black Mountain, NC 28711.

References

Ask two persons to write a reference for you. At least one should be an administrator or supervisor at your work,

who expresses encouragement and support for your training in Reflection and Prayer, and who speaks to the issue

of how you could use this training in the future. Please list the individuals that you are requesting to send the

references, and ask them to send them electronically to evelyn_davis@sil.org.

Name ____________________________________________ Position _________________________________

Name ____________________________________________ Position _________________________________

Chapter 7: Intimacy and the Practice of Prayer

Click to enlarge.
Spiritual Intimacy with God
Moving Joyfully Into the Deeper Life

What stage of relationship are you in with Christ? Are you in courtship, marriage or just meeting? Using the image of the church as the Bride of Christ, and Christ as the Bridegroom, Alice Smith delves deep into how intimacy with Christ grows. Just as God has designed you for intimacy in marriage he longs for intimacy in spirit with you.

Chapter 7

Intimacy and the Practice of Prayer

D. L. Moody is remembered for saying that every great move of God can be traced to a kneeling figure. I’m convinced that Moody is correct and that your move toward intimacy is dependent on practicing the discipline of prayer. Therefore, though we touched on the subject in Chapter 6, I want to spend some extra pages sharing some keys I’ve used to unlock this power in my life.

Prayer Has a Head Connection

You know the old adage: “I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” Well, it’s true! When a chicken’s head is chopped off, it will race frantically about for a while, but eventually it will simply collapse. Frankly, nothing could more accurately describe the prayerless Christian. We were born to stay connected to the Lord through prayer, and without his headship, our frantic efforts to look effective will drop lifelessly to the ground.

Prayer is connecting your body to his head. You can’t persevere in great things for God until you connect with your great God in prayer. Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Can you believe it? He will give us his mind if we diligently press into his presence in prayer. Then, it’s no longer me, but Christ in me who is praying.

When you have the mind of Christ, you don’t have to strive to hear his voice—it just flows. Conversely, when you have a blockage, you feel like Job who wrote, “If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling” (Job 23:3).

Nothing prevents us more from finding him and dwelling in his presence than a stronghold of unbelief. Permit me to explain. A stronghold is an impenetrable mindset, or house of thoughts, sometimes even a generational pattern of thinking that refuses change. At the root of this stronghold is a belief system of lies that sets self up as the authority rather than God. And when we are steeped in lies, we knowingly or unknowingly believe and behave in a way other than the way of faith that will accomplish God’s results. The truth is that the spirit of unbelief will either cancel the power of faith, or faith will cancel the power of unbelief—but faith and unbelief cannot coexist. Therefore, when we have a stronghold of unbelief, we cannot have the mind of Christ.

Many of the people Moses led out of Egypt did not enter into the Promised Land because they had a spirit of unbelief. Hebrews 3:19 says, “They were not allowed to enter his rest because of unbelief.” And Hebrews 4:2 says, “The message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not combine it with faith.” When we pick and choose which parts of the Bible we will believe, we give the spirit of unbelief an opportunity to create a stronghold that destroys our ability to have intimacy.

Several years ago, I was teaching at a three-day conference. During the Friday-night ministry session, a beautiful young Scandinavian woman came forward for prayer. Talk about stoic. I felt as though I was praying for a stone. I knew I didn’t have time to deal with the root of her need that first evening so I prayed a short prayer for her and told her to come back on Saturday.

The following day I prayed, “Lord, please show me the root of this woman’s problem.” When I put my hands on her shoulders, I sensed the Lord saying that she had succumbed to a spirit of unbelief. I asked, “Have you or any of your family members struggled with atheism?” The woman confessed that both her father and grandfather had been atheists.

I asked her to renounce the spirit of unbelief and lies that produce doubt and confusion. Suddenly she began shaking violently and fell to the ground. Moments later, like a switch turned on, she was laughing and light hearted. With a broad grin across her face, she exclaimed, “I feel God’s love!”

Often those challenged with a stronghold of unbelief have had a traumatic experience with a father figure and have transferred that fear to God. Their hearts then have been hardened to the Lord so that intimacy can’t be cultivated without prayer and soaking in God’s truth.

People who are struggling with a spirit of unbelief are constantly dealing with negative self-talk and convincing themselves that they are unworthy to be loved or to receive from God. That lie takes up residence in the heart and becomes a stronghold that prevents intimacy. If you are dealing with the stronghold of unbelief, please open you eyes and make the following declaration with me:

“I renounce you, spirit of unbelief and spirit of lies, and I command you to leave my life right now. I break all covenants, vows, and agreements with you. I decree and declare that I am no longer bound by your deception. I decree and declare that God’s Son has set me free and that I am free indeed. In accordance with God’s Word, I announce and proclaim that nothing is impossible with God, therefore, I am free to hear his voice and experience his love now.”

If you have made this declaration, I encourage you to watch your words. Start confessing positive statements such as, “God loves me.” And, “I am loveable.” And, “God desires to share his heart with me.” The following are some scriptures to memorize:

• Everything is possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23).

• I am complete in Christ who is heard over all principalities and powers (Col. 2:9).

• God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us (Eph. 3:20, The Message)

• Finally, brothers whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Phil. 4:8).

As you choose to replace the lies you have believed with the truth of God’s Word, your feelings will catch up with your words and your intimacy will grow—big time! Believe me!

Prayer Requires a Guide

None of us have the ability to get to God without help. I’m reminded of an occasion in the early 70s when Eddie and I had the privilege of meeting Mrs. James Stewart, the wife of the late author and evangelist Dr. James Stewart. Elderly, but still beautiful, Mrs. Stewart proudly affirmed a story told by the visiting preacher at the meeting we attended. The preacher retold it as if Mr. Stewart were speaking.

“One afternoon I was visiting a famous European art gallery by myself. I was keenly disappointed and totally bored. I thought to myself, Why do people come from all parts of the world to visit this place? Sometime later I was invited by believers in that city to tour the same gallery as their guest. I wasn’t very enthusiastic about it, considering my past experience. However, our host employed a guide, and under his skillful instruction, the paintings and tapestries in the gallery came alive. I was thrilled beyond words! I kept repeating, ‘Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!’ I asked one of the hostesses in the group what the difference was between this visit and my previous visit. She thought for a moment, and then with a beaming face said, ‘I see it now. It was the guide!’”

We can’t develop an intimate prayer life apart from the Holy Spirit. He is the guide. Ask him to create a hunger in you for more of God--then get ready to be satisfied. Ask him to guide your time in prayer. The Lord has promised that he will: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Ask him to get away with you; he will not disappoint you.

Practice Solitude

And speaking of getting away with him, Jesus taught us by example that intimacy is developed in the solitude of prayer. To be close to anyone, we must spend time alone with that person.

Solitude is a hardship when approached from a position of works, but when it is approached from a position of friendship, its absolute joy. Jesus said that he is a “friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24), but we often hurry through life so fast that we forget to take our Friend with us. The distance between where we started out with him and where we end up then creates a void of loneliness. That’s when solitude in prayer is replaced with loneliness of heart. He doesn’t initiate the way back into closeness; we must choose it. The Bible says in James 4:8, “Draw near to him and he will draw near to you.” Many of the Church’s greatest hymns are the outcome of solitude, such as “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Here is the story.

“Joseph Scriven watched in shock as the body of his fiancée was pulled from the lake. Their wedding had been planned for the next day. Reeling from the tragedy, he made up his mind to immigrate to America. Packing up his belongings in Dublin, Ireland, he sailed for Canada, leaving his mother behind. He was about 25 years old.

Years later, in 1855, he received word that his mother was facing a crisis. Joseph wrote this poem and sent it to her. Mrs. Scriven evidently gave a copy to a friend who had it published anonymously, and it quickly became a popular hymn, though no one knew who had written it.

Meanwhile, Joseph fell in love again. But tragedy struck a second time when his bride, Eliza Catherine Roche, contracted tuberculosis and died in 1860 before their wedding could take place.

To escape his sorrow, Joseph poured himself into ministry, doing charity work for the Plymouth Brethren and preaching among the Baptists. He lived a simple, obscure life in Port Hope, Canada, cutting firewood for widows, giving away his clothes and money to those in need. He was described as “a man of short stature, with iron- gray hair, close-cropped beard, and light blue eyes that sparkled when he talked. Ira Sankey later wrote:

Until a short time before his death, it was not known that he had a poetic gift. A neighbor, sitting up with him in his illness, happened upon a manuscript copy of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Reading it with great delight and questioning Mr. Scriven about it, he said that he had composed it for his mother, to comfort her in a time of special sorrow, not intending that anyone else should see it. Some time later, when another Port Hope neighbor asked him if it was true that he had composed the hymn, his reply was, ‘The Lord and I did it between us.’”¹

Solitude with God will eventually bring public honor, and things done in obscurity will always be brought out into the light.

Prime the Time

I’ll never forget the summers growing up when we would visit my Uncle Bill and Aunt Claire Day, who lived on a farm in Nacogdoches, Texas that had no indoor plumbing. Sometimes in order to get the water flowing, we would need to prime the pump by adding water to it. Uncle Bill would pour water into the dry shaft. Then as he would thrust the handle up and down, the suction displaced the air, and water flowed freely from the deep water reservoirs below the surface of the earth. Similarly, when God is not flowing through our prayers, there are things we can do to prime the spiritual pump.

The Bible says, “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6, KJV). Just two verses later we read, “And David inquired of the Lord, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, ‘Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.’” By priming his spirit during a difficult time, prayer began and later in verses 18 and 19, we read that everything David had lost was restored.

Perhaps you are having trouble getting started in prayer. Let me encourage you. Worship. Read a book, a devotional, a Scripture. Praise. Reflect on past victories. Any of these can be used to restore the flow of prayer. Allow the Holy Spirit to show you how to encourage yourself in the Lord and prime the time for intimacy.

Realize that Prayer is Communion

My intimate experiences with the Lord have grown and changed throughout the years. So will yours. Jesus can’t reveal everything to any of us at once; we grow closer to him over time. However, “prayer” is the word we use for having communion with Christ.

We tend to think of Communion as relegated only to the Lord’s Supper. The act sounds rather formal and somber; however, Jesus offers the broken bread and poured out wine so that we will “re”-member ourselves as part of his body. In other words, it’s a way of examining our hearts and wherever we have felt disconnected, allowing him to show us how to make the connection again. We must remember to “re”-member for the purpose of staying intimate. I recommend that you experience a personal “Lord’s Supper” as often as possible.

And there is much more about the word “communion” that I want to cover here as a means of developing intimacy through prayer. For example, prayer is not just the quiet time spent in your prayer closet; it also includes making the Lord a part of your daily conversations. Assume his constant presence with you. Ask him to minister to people around you and through you. Ask him for revelation and counsel in every detail of your life. Hey, you can even ask Jesus to help you find a parking spot! Let all of your life become your prayer so that he communes with you and you commune with him about everything.

My friend, pastor and author, Dutch Sheets explains “communion” in this way:

“Second Corinthians 13:14 says, ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.’ The word fellowship here is koinonia and is rich with meaning, as can be seen in the following definitions: The word koinonia implies that the Holy Spirit wants intimacy with us. This very word is used in 1 Corinthians 10:16 to describe the Lord’s Table, the bread and the wine. This is appropriate since it is the Lord’s shed blood and broken body that brings us into covenantal, intimate communion with Him.

The Holy Spirit wants to commune with us. He has much to say if we choose to listen. He is the means to all revelation from God. He is the Teacher. He is a part of the Godhead we’re to be in relationship with. Let him fellowship and commune with you. At times his fellowship with you requires no speaking. Some communion is heart to heart. At times I crawl up to God for a look. Just knowing he is looking back is enough. At other times he shares his heart while I’m gazing.

There is an amazing picture of this sort of intimacy reflected in the following scriptures: The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant (Ps. 25:14, italics mine).

The words “secret” and “intimacy” are translated from the same root Hebrew word cowd, which means “couch, cushion, or pillow.”²

The picture is one of two intimate friends laughing and talking at lunch in a crowded restaurant, oblivious to their surroundings, lost in their conversation. Or, it reminds me of my teen slumber parties. Late at night, we girls would put on our PJ’s, grab our pillows, and sit in a circle to talk, laugh, and tell stories. The Lord desires this same kind of “snuggle close” friendship with you, as if all of your life were an intimate prayer to share together.

Intimates Listen

And speaking of sharing, have you ever known a person who simply wouldn’t tolerate the idea of being quiet? I have. I was acquainted with a woman who talked so incessantly that I wondered how she ever developed intimacy with anyone. Perhaps her constant babbling stemmed from her insecurity, or the fact that she had to be in control at all times. I don’t know. But I do know that good friends listen, especially those who want to live prayerfully close to the Lord.

I often laugh to myself as I watch my friend’s dog, Chester, mindlessly run off while she chases and continues to call his name. He behaves as if he is completely deaf. But when she shouts, “Let’s go bye-bye!” he turns on a dime and dashes for the car. Sadly, the body of Christ is often just as selective with its hearing as that little dog. We get so used to tuning God out that when he has something special to speak into our lives; we’re too distracted to hear him.

At least five times in the New Testament we read, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” It doesn’t say let him talk, but hear. If only we the Church would learn to listen. Listening is always key to developing intimacy in prayer!

Prayer Differs From Intercession

I am often asked, “What is the difference between prayer and intercession?” Let me start by saying that you can pray without intimacy, but you cannot intercede without it. Intercession is praying the burdens of God’s heart. Prayer, however, is talking to the Lord; it is the way in which intimacy is developed. Prayer is also the way we live our daily lives in him--keeping our ears tuned toward him, sharing our thoughts with him, and practicing his presence.

Back in the 1600s there lived a man named Nicholas Herman who was greatly influenced by his parish priest named Lawrence. Young Nicholas served as a soldier and was crippled during the war. Later, he entered the monastic life and took the name Lawrence in want of emulating his mentor. After fifteen years, he worked in the sandal repair shop and eventually went to work in the kitchen washing dishes and practicing the presence of God. He shunned the limelight and sought satisfaction only in the fulfilling of God’s will, whether by suffering or consolation--it did not matter.

Brother Lawrence changed his world by demonstrating for others how to be wholly devoted and how to govern life by love without selfish views. In the book Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence says,

“There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Only those can comprehend it who practice and experience it. Yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive. It is not pleasure that we are to seek in this exercise. Let us do it from a principle of love, and because it is God’s will for us. Were I a preacher I would, above all other things, preach the practice of the presence of God. Were I a director, I would advise all the world to do it, so necessary do I think it, and so easy too. Ah! Knew we but the want we have of the grace and assistance of God, we would never lose sight of Him, no, not for a moment…I do not advise you to use many words and long discourses in prayer, because they are often the occasions of wandering. Hold yourself in prayer before God, like a dumb or paralytic beggar at a rich man’s gate. Let it be your business to keep your mind in the presence of the Lord.”³

I’m reminded of a dear saint of God that I knew who lived in such harmony with the Father that when we talked she had difficulty at times sorting out the conversations. She would say, “Alice, when you come to…Yes, Lord. I will tell her that in a moment…Alice, as I was saying, when you come to….” She was carrying on simultaneous conversations with the Lord and me. And because of the level of holiness on which she lived, it didn’t even seem odd to her. That, my friend, is the intimacy of prayer!

Transforming Congregational Culture

Transforming Congregational Culture

Anthony B. Robinson

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2003

Chapter

3. From Civic Faith to Human Transformation

7. From Board Culture to Ministry Culture

8. From Community Organization to Faith-Based Ministry

9. From Democracy to Discernment

10. The Budget: From End to Means

11. From Fellowship to Hospitality

12. Membership Growth: From Passive to Active

...technical or programmatic change, or even restructuring, is not a sufficient response to the challenges of the day. What we face is far deeper than that. We need to be talking about changing the very culture... I argue for a radical - to the roots - change and shift in the culture

If part of what we are dealing with is change in the larger North American culture and society - its religious makeup and ethos, I will also use "culture" and "cultural change" in a second sense. Response to these larger cultural shifts on the part of the once mainline churches will involve change in the culture of congregations. Programmatic change is not enough. Restructuring is not enough. Neither will go deep enough. Most clergy and church leaders get half a dozen mailings each week that describe the latest, hottest, and newest program for congregational renewal. Some of them are quite good. But few of them get to the level of change in the culture of the congregation. (Here I am using the term "culture" in an anthropological sense to mean the thick network of symbols, language, and behaviors that characterize and define a human community.) The challenge we face in the historically mainline Protestant churches is the challenge of cultural change in this latter sense.

To be sure, asking questions is not easy and will seldom be well received. In many respects what I have described as giving leadership for facing adaptive challenge - asking questions, letting people feel the pinch of reality, dis-orienting, drawing out conflict, challenging norms - is the work of a prophet. And we all know what happens to prophets.

Too often we preachers have taken it as our task to make the faith fit in with the modern world rather than to challenge it. We have exercised technical leadership, but not leadership for adaptive change.

If you are in the market for an adventure, it is a great time to be a leader in the church. And because the church today is facing such an important and essential challenge, it is a wondrously exciting time for ministries that help congregations enter into cultural change and the new life that comes with it.

It is true that the church is no longer the conscience of the community, the instrument of aid to the least fortunate, or the center of community and family life, and if we recognize that faithfulness requires more of us than being a good social club for our members, what is the church's business today? Again, it is a time of wonderful opportunity for the church. The post-christendom, postmodern era has given the church the opportunity to discover, or rediscover, a purpose more in keeping with its Scriptures and its own origins and formative years.

The purpose of the church today, a purpose much more in keeping with the purpose of the church in its earliest, pre-Christendom era, is that of human transformation. Our purpose is to change lives. As a pastor I find that one of the reasons that this is such a good time to be the church and to be a minister is that many people - and many of those who seek a church today - are seeking change in their lives. Gone is the era when people come to the church as a way of being part of the community or being good citizens.

The church is not the fellowship of those who have been fully and completely changed or saved and who require nothing more. In other words, the church is not the saved who are then to save others. The church is a fellowship, a gathering of those who are in the process of being changed, of those who are being saved and made new, and who invite others to join them in this adventure and in this life.

Today, in a new time, the purpose of the church and its ministries is more adequately described as transforming people in the light of God's grace - revealed in the Exodus, the Incarnation, and the Resurrection.

FROM CHRISTIAN EDUCATION TO CHRISTIAN FORMATION

Copenhaver provides a further helpful summary of contrasts between education and formation, none of which, he emphasizes, ought to be pushed too far, but which help us to see the differences.

First, the purpose of Christian education is to inform; by contrast, the purpose of Christian formation - as the word itself implies - is to form, to shape, to mold.

Second, Christian education engages the intellect; by contrast, Christian formation engages the whole person.

Third, the goal of Christian education is understanding; by contrast, the goal of formation is faithfulness.

Fourth, Christian education can be pursued in settings dedicated to that purpose (such as classrooms); by contrast, Christian formation cannot take place in isolation. Indeed, Christian formation takes place in the complex and dynamic context of the entire life of the community of faith. To put it another way, Christian formation is the whole person molded in the context of the whole community. It is life lived in the round.

Fifth, Christian education can take place in fairly straightforward ways. We know a lot about how to dispense information. It follows predictable patterns. Progress can be measured. By contrast, how Christian formation takes place is harder to trace. Because formation depends heavily on the work of the Holy Spirit, it is not nearly as predictable. In most instances, we are reduced to saying something like this: Christian formation often seems to happen in this kind of setting, when these elements are present. That is, it is harder to trace fully how one is formed than it is to trace how one is educated.

Congregational Spirituality: From Givers to Receivers Who Give

...in congregations where the shift in congregational spirituality from "givers" to "receivers who give" has been experienced and supported, the leaders are those who are also led. They seek and respond to the leading of God, of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They are not solo operators. They recognize that being a leader involves an openness to and a capacity for the Spirit. As leaders they are learning to say, and to mean, "Not my will, but thy will be done." Their leadership is funded by worship experience, by prayer, and by study of the Scriptures.

Leaders are those who are led - led by the Spirit. They are givers who have received.

Today the new post-christendom, postmodern era is upon us, and the church is once again seeing that "mission" is not a department, a budget, the activity of a designated "mission" committee or the transfer of resources overseas. In this new time, everything the church does is, in some sense, mission. In our secular, religiously pluralistic, Western context, every congregation is - at least potentially - a mission outpost, a beachhead of the empire of God in the midst of the empire of America. "Mission" is not one of the many programs of the church, the church exists for mission, for the changing and transforming of human beings and human communities, in light of the gospel.

This is the backdrop for the shift from "board culture to ministry culture." The work that was asked of congregation members in earlier times, participating in running the church, has been changed in this new time to a calling of congregation members to be engaged in ministry themselves, not simply to manage the church's ministry and the clergy's ministry.

The board culture tends to operate from a scarcity approach: "There are all these board slots, positions, offices - how will we ever fill them?" A ministry culture tends to operate from the idea of abundance; God gives all people gifts for ministry. The church's task is to help people discover, identify, claim, and exercise those gifts. In that way we will get as much "ministry" done as God calls forth.

Paul Sherry, immediate past president of the United Church of Christ, was once invited to speak at the dedication of a new youth center in Chicago. At the time, Sherry was the executive director of the Chicago Renewal Society, a social-service agency that had Christian roots. Another one of the speakers was Harold Washington, then mayor of Chicago, who had had many associations with Sherry. After the ceremony, Mayor Washington invited Sherry to have a cup of coffee with him at a local diner. When they sat down, Mayor Washington quickly got to the reason for the invitation.

"You know, Paul, I appreciate all your efforts in getting this center opened, and I also appreciated your remarks today. But you are a Christian minister and I didn't hear you say anything today that couldn't have been said by somebody else. We need to hear something else from you. We need to hear something form the gospel!"

"A 'majority rules' way of thinking," observes Copenhaver, "is what happens when we take God out of the congregational process. It is not that no one can tell us what to do (a frequent claim of American Christians, especially those in churches with a congregational polity). Rather, we seek together to discern what Christ would have us to do. We listen to one another because we are listening for the voice of the Spirit, and you never know whom the Spirit will choose to speak through. We wait upon the Spirit, as did the people of Pentecost, the Spirit that alone is able to fashion understanding and unity out of diversity."

In the average congregation there is considerable experience with democratic decision-making and parliamentary procedures. But members of those same congregations are less likely to understand discernment. Teaching about discernment as a spiritual practice will be important. Discernment involves listening to one another and listening for the Spirit. Moreover, as we listen to one another, the point is not necessarily to identify the will of the majority but to discern the mind of Christ and the will of God. "Attitude," goes the saying, "is everything." In this case, the attitude with which we approach our work and life together makes a great deal of difference. Do we seek the will of the majority or the mind of Christ?

...the budget often became an end rather than a means.

...as congregations became less goal-and mission-driven, the budget and budget processes became, ironically, more complex and arcane. Charts, pies, lists, lines, funds (some visible, some hidden), and associated turf battles came to characterize the annual slicing of the pie. It was a classic case of "work avoidance." rather than asking the important questions, we micromanaged the budget! When this becomes the case, chances are good that congregations have forgotten - or been afraid to ask - the prior questions. What is God calling us to be and to do? What is our purpose as a church? What are we trying to accomplish? What is our business?

A budget is really a planning and administrative tool - and nothing more. In this new time, we are challenged to break the pattern of letting the budget take on a reified status and instead seek to allow God's Spirit to direct what is possible, and then seek the resources to accomplish it.

When we allow the congregation's budget to become an end in itself, we have often succeeded in creating a system that acts as if God did not exist!

"The true and real sacrament of the Protestant church," observed one wag, "is the coffee hour." When church is out, coffee is on and people gather in fellowship halls across the land for what we have come to designate as "fellowship." Of course, "fellowship" in its origins is not as pallid or superficial as the typical church coffee hour may seem to be. The Greek word koinonia bespeaks a kind of bond, an affection, a unity that is deep and enduring, not superficial and episodic.

Not only has fellowship been thinned out to the coffee-hour experience, but congregations have come to judge and rate themselves on their "friendliness": "We are," say many congregations, "a friendly church." To not be "friendly" is to be a bad thing, a failure as a church. But are friendliness and fellowship all that they are held up to be? Too often, I suspect, what we mean by fellowship and a friendly church is that we find people like ourselves in that church. We find the church full of people of our social group, educational background, lifestyle, values, and so on. When we find compatible people, we deem the church to be friendly, comfortable, and "a good fit."

Hospitality is a very different concept than friendliness. According to John McFadden, "When we extend hospitality to the stranger, we make no assumption that this person will have anything at all in common with us, much less that we will like one another. It could be someone unpleasant, even dangerous; we are still obligated to offer our hospitality." In these ways hospitality is at odds with friendliness.

Hospitality does not rest on the assumption that we are all the same, or that in getting to know someone we will find that we will really like that person. Hospitality allows the other to be other, to be different. The biblical origins and stories of hospitality are many. Sarah and Abraham welcomed passing strangers, inviting them to rest and eat with them. It turned out that one of the strangers was God himself, who had come to announce to the old folks that they would have a child, their first, before the year was out.

The New Testament begins, one might say, with a story of hospitality - or failed hospitality. When Joseph and Mary journey to Bethlehem to be counted in the Roman census, they find that there is "no room for them" at the inn. They take shelter in a cattle shed, or cave. The innkeeper has unwittingly turned away the Son of God, an act that foreshadows the way the world will prove inhospitable to a God whose ways are strange to us.

"In some churches," writes John McFadden, "there is emphasis - even an insistence - that all members believe the same way, live the same way, vote the same way.

They seem to think it is their mission to force all members to conform to a single identity."

A different way might be described as a church with a clear center but open boundaries. Rather than drawing a hard line that says who is in and who is out, the centered church articulates and honors its center in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. But the walls have many doors. The boundaries are porous. Whoever is moving toward the center is welcome, no matter how far from the center they may be coming from.

Membership growth is, in many ways, a by-product of effective ministry and mission, and not its goal.

I agree with Kirk Hadaway that our goal in congregations is not necessarily to be large churches or even to be great churches, but rather to be real churches. By "real" Hadaway means communities of faith where the sacred is experienced in life-transforming ways, and where the Christian faith becomes incarnate in the life of a congregation and its members.

Growth happens where lives are being changed, and in all likelihood that growth will involve the vitality of engagement in ministry.

Membership growth is a symptom, an important but secondary effect, of a congregation that participates in some measure in the new life of the kingdom of God.

No single factor is more important to congregational vitality than leadership.

Leadership is a partnership of leaders and followers. Good leaders will call forth and enable the leadership gifts of others. Sometimes key leadership in making shifts in congregational culture will not come from designated or elected leaders, or even from a congregation's defacto leaders. Sometimes, when you're doing adaptive work, leadership will come from the outside or below. It may come from a person new to the church; or it may come from someone new on a board or committee. It may come from a teenager or group of teenagers. It may come from a person or persons at the margins of the congregation's power and decision-making structure. Typically, those inside the structure are content with the way things are; but those who have been excluded - or at least not included - may be one's best allies in the work of adaptive and cultural change in a congregation. Designated leaders, such as clergy, need to practice the strategy of protecting those who would lead from below or outside.

Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry >Table of Contents

^{Section One: The Theological Foundation of Prayer}

Chapter 1: The Bible and Prayer – Gary T. Meadors 10

Chapter 2: Jewish Traditions of Prayer – Jan Verbruggen 17

Chapter 3: Prayer and the Kingdom of God – Ron Walborn 25

Chapter 4: God the Father and Prayer – Patricia A. Outlaw 31

Chapter 5: God the Son and Prayer – James R. Wicker 37

Chapter 6: Praying in the Name of Jesus – Randal Roberts 44

Chapter 7: The Gospel of Prayer – John W. Taylor 50

Chapter 8: God the Spirit and Prayer – James L. Wakefield 56

Chapter 9: Prayer and the Accompaniment of Angels – David A. Shive 63

Chapter 10: The Lord’s Prayer – Thomas L. Constable 70

Chapter 11: Prayer and God’s Responses – Steve Hawthorne 76

Chapter 12: The Aspects, Varieties and Kinds of Prayer – Alice Smith 83

Chapter 13: Prayer and the Sovereignty of God – Leith Anderson 90

Chapter 14: Crisis Praying vs. Consistent Praying – Bert Downs 95

Chapter 15: Problems of Seemingly Unanswered Prayer – Elmer L. Towns 101

Chapter 16: Characteristics of God-Honoring Prayer –

Arturo G. Azurdia, III 108

Chapter 18: Praying with God’s Heart and Mind – Joel Wilson 119

Chapter 19: Responding in Prayer to God’s Character – Aida Besancon Spencer 125

Chapter 20: Does God Really Need Our Prayer? – Dutch Sheets 131

^{Section Two: The Personal Passion for Prayer}

Chapter 21: The Bible and Personal Passion in Prayer – Earl Pickard 135

Chapter 22: A Biblical Role Model of Personal Passion in Prayer –

Gloria J. Wiese 144

Chapter 23: Jesus as a Role Model of Personal Passion in Prayer –

Howard Baker 151

Chapter 24: An Historical Role Model of Personal Passion in Prayer –

Karen Bullock 158

Chapter 25: Disciplines of Personal Prayer – Dan R. Crawford 65

Chapter 26: Habits of Effective Pray-ers – Dennis Conner 172

Chapter 27: The Use of Scripture in Personal Prayer – Larry Ashlock 179

Chapter 28: Personal Prayer Retreats – Cynthia Bezek 187

Chapter 29: Prayer Journals/Diaries – Gary Waller 195

Chapter 30: How to Address God in Prayer – William David Spencer 201

Chapter 31: To Whom Does God Listen? – W. Bingham Hunter 207

Chapter 32: How to Hear from God in Prayer – Calvin A. Blom 215

Chapter 33: Contemplative Prayer – Reg Johnson 221

Chapter 34: Developing a Lifestyle of Prayer – Gerald Schmidt 228

Chapter 35: The Problem of Prayerlessness – Mary Kate Morse 235

Chapter 36: Intimacy with God through Prayer – John Franklin 241

Chapter 37: Hindrances to Effective Prayer – Sammy Tippit 247

Chapter 38: How to Pray without Ceasing – Cornell (Corkie) Haan 253

Chapter 39: The Secret of Single-Minded Prayer – Eddie Smith 259

Chapter 40: Abiding Prayer – Tony Twist 266

^{Section Three: The Corporate Expression of Prayer}

Chapter 41: The Bible and Church Prayer – J. Chris Schofield 274

Chapter 42: The Place of Prayer in the Early Church – Steve Booth 283

Chapter 43: The Meaning of “A House of Prayer” – Dennis Fuqua 289

Chapter 44: How to Build a House of Prayer – Dave Butts 295

Chapter 45: Prayer Meetings and Revival in the Church – Joel R. Beeke 301

Chapter 46: Praying Together vs. Private Prayer – Bruce M. Hartung 308

Chapter 47: Leading/Facilitating Corporate Prayer – Phil Miglioratti 314

Chapter 48: Prayer in the Corporate Worship Service – Jonathan Graf 322

Chapter 49: Prayer Partners, Prayer Triplets, Small Prayer Groups –

Daryl Eldridge 329

Chapter 50: Accountability in Prayer – John D. Floyd 336

Chapter 51: Church Prayer Ministries and Prayer Rooms – Elaine Helms 342

Chapter 52: Prayer as Creative Expression – Gary W. McCoy 347

Chapter 53: Family Prayer – Kim Butts 354

Chapter 54: Mobilizing Youth to Pray – Mike Higgs 360

Chapter 55: Prayer Components for City-wide Movements – Tom White 367

Chapter 56: Pastoral Prayers of Intercession – Stan May 375

Chapter 57: Worship Based Prayer vs. List Based Prayer – Dick Eastman 382

Chapter 58: Praying vs. Being “Devoted to Prayer” – Steve Loopstra 389

Chapter 59: The Relational Affects of Corporate Prayer –

David Livingstone Rowe 395

Chapter 60: How to Evaluate the Prayer Life of a Congregation –

Daniel 401

^{Section Four: The Global Impact of Prayer}

Chapter 61: The Bible and Global Prayer – Henry Blackaby 410

Chapter 62: Prayer and Spiritual Awakenings – Glenn Sheppard 416

Chapter 63: Prayer and Evangelism – Alvin L. Reid 425

Chapter 64: Lighthouses of Prayer – Alvin J. VanderGriend 432

Chapter 65: Prayer and Missionary Movements – Ron Boehme 439

Chapter 66: Strategic Prayer for God’s Mission and Missionaries –

Mike Barnett 447

Chapter 67: Prayerwalking as a Method of Intercessory Prayer – Randy Sprinkle 454

Chapter 68: Prayer Calendars/Networks/Communication Links –

Naomi A. Frizzell 460

Chapter 69: Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – Chuck Lawless 469

Chapter 70: Mobilizing Prayer Advocacy – Eleanor Witcher 476

Chapter 71: Praying for the Unreached People Groups of the World –

Ed Cox 483

Chapter 72: Equipping the Church for Global Praying – John Quam 490

Chapter 73: Kingdom Praying – Minette Drumwright Pratt 496

Chapter 74: Praying for Those in Global Authority – John Lind 502

Chapter 75: Prayer for the Harvest – Paula Hemphill 509

Chapter 76: Prayer Journeys: Praying on Location for the Nations – Pat Allen 516

Chapter 77: Prayer Foundation for Global Ministry – Daniel Sanchez 521

Chapter 78: International House of Prayer – Gary Wiens 528

Chapter 79: Missionary Dynamic and Prayer – George W. Peters 535

Chapter 80: The Lord's Model of Prayer for the Kingdom –

Darrell W. Johnson 544

Conclusion – Dan R. Crawford 551

Bibliography 553

Christian Emergency Network's Ready Church

Christian Emergency Network

Christian Emergency Network (CEN) is a communications and collaboration network mobilizing Christians and their churches to support the nation’s “Readiness” agenda. By networking and educating Christians to be aware-ready-and-there before, during and after disasters, CEN is preparing the Church at large to be a source of hope, comfort and salvation during times of national crisis.

CEN rallies Christians in emergencies of all kinds uniting thousands of Christian organizations, ministries, churches, media and millions of individuals to deliver a unified message of hope during disaster and to keep the faith community informed, equipped and sustained to effectively support disaster response and recovery efforts.

{The CEN website received 20,000,000 hits on one single day during an activation}

Ready Church Model

• CEN Chapter
• Activation Area
• City Leaders
• Ready Church ‘Boot Camp’
• Ready Church Campaign
• Readiness Experts Facilitate EOP Integration
• Interfacing organization
• Set up and support
• Existing networks connected
• NIMS compliant training
• Critical mass recruited
• Database of resources/ready volunteers
• Distribution outlets
• Integration into emergency management structures
• State of activation readiness

CEN/The Ready Church Initiative

In June 2008 CEN launched the CEN/Ready Church Initiative to network and equip local churches in select pilot cities. The pilot program, slated for the Fall 2008 is being fast-tracked to meet the needs of Christian citywide leaders responding to weather- related disasters currently happening throughout the nation.

The Ready Church Initiative is a national collaboration of Christian organizations facilitated by CEN to network churches at the local level to provide the right response to emergencies. Christian city leaders involved in existing compassion ministries are trained to integrate their constituents into a local network that is prepared to care for itself and then others in the same or nearby impacted areas in the event of an emergency. Churches are assessed; gaps in preparedness are filled; training in response is given; and then these churches are registered and mobilized through a national database and communications system.

Building on the principle of collaboration, CEN acts as the communication hub and network facilitator. Training, materials and expertise in various “best practice” areas are provided by network participants. During the “proof of concept,” CEN will establish a fully operational Ready Church model and recruit a critical mass of local churches and local media to join in with organizations like The Salvation Army, and the Mission America Coalition citywide leaders to:

1. Promote a vision of a citywide/nationwide equipped and “ready” church as part of a sponsored awareness campaign.
2. Train city leaders in guidelines and best practices for mobilization.
3. Set up “Activation” areas and network existing organizations with the help of CEN chapters.
4. Assess churches, fill their preparedness & response gaps, and register their commitment and resources to be made available during an Activation.
5. Train, recruit, and maintain a database of volunteers and facilities with the help of participating government and NGOs.
6. Prepare to activate and deploy as needed.

Why now?

Katrina has shown us that the government strategy of response cannot be accomplished without the tactical readiness of the local Church.

A Ready Church can play a pivotal role in completing the response chain at the local level:

1. Communication
2. Logistics
3. Leadership
4. Training

A Ready Church can be a significant and key achievement in protecting the homeland and minimizing the impact of natural and manmade disasters. Several models of success are soon to be validated and can be expanded to have a significant impact by October - if we act now.

All Government, Non-Government (NGO’s), and Faith-Based and Community Groups Included

The Ready Church Initiative will bring together churches, citywide Christian leaders, government agencies, and media to equip a local network for disaster preparedness, response and recovery; and all will benefit from the results. It provides an opportunity for different faith communities to adapt the working model. Christian, Jew, Muslim and any other faith-leader may join the effort to learn and share with their communities.

Groups are invited to:

1. Come and see – bring yourself or send local representatives to sit in or participate in the Ready Church Initiative.
2. Participate – join in the strategic planning at local roundtables and in the work of the local CEN chapter.
3. Invest resources – put in your human and other resources to help engage as many churches and members as possible, so we can share freely in the success and invest ours back into your faith communities.
4. Lead in areas of expertise – invest your expertise, so we can learn from each other.
   

CEN Contacts:

Mary Marr, Founder/Chairman – 520-577-6589, Mary.Marr@ChristianEmergencyNetwork.Org

Judy Hannestad, Director of Communications – 800-260-5637, Judy.Hannestad@ChristianEmergencyNetwork.Org

Mary Marr Bio

Mary Marr, Founder and Chairman of Christian Emergency Network (CEN), was called into ministry in 1978 after a successful career in public education in which she wrote the State of Michigan Guidelines for Career Education. After completing a theology education Mary’s media career began when she was approached to host a one-hour radio program that later became a syndicated daily radio program called Outreach Alert heard on over 1000 radio outlets nationwide. Mary also launched the Detroit Leadership Network and the Tucson Leadership Network, while actively engaged as a conference speaker and author of inspirational books, articles and commentaries.

In 2001, in collaboration with ten leading national ministries, along with public and private sector agencies, Mary founded the Christian Emergency Network (CEN), an unprecedented Christian collaboration and disaster-focused communication organization. Mary leads the charge as CEN rallies the Church to be aware-ready-and-there to give a compassionate Christian response to emergencies.

In addition to being an active member of the Mission America Coalition and the National Religious Broadcasters, Mary has worked cooperatively with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Preparedness Campaign and contributed to the DHS Institute report that evaluated the best practices in the faith-based community related to Katrina.