New England Alliance

Diversity: Overcoming Differences

2012-01-31T06:57:00.000-08:00

Are you in a hurry?

Despite our best intentions, we often find ourselves rushing to get everything done that needs to be done. As we've all experienced, being in a hurry can lead us to overlook things that are important in favor of the urgent requirements of the moment.

Over the last months, Roberto Miranda has had a series of conversations with Christian leaders around the region. These conversations are not urgent. However, if you're interested in seeing God's presence fill the New England region, in seeing greater unity in the Body of Christ, and in understanding what we can do to cooperate with God in these things, I think you'll find these conversations important.

So, set aside an hour when you can, sit down with a cup of tea, and savor this conversation with John Eckhardt and Kevin Kidd, two Maine pastors with years of experience overcoming differences in the Body of Christ. I don't think you'll regret it!

Click Here to Watch the Video!

The conversation continues as Roberto
interviews two men from Maine,
John Eckhardt and Kevin Kidd.
John and Kevin have both spent years
attempting to overcome differences in the Church
and are starting to see success as never before.

Video Episode 2: "Unity"

2012-01-23T18:48:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had a good conversation?

Perhaps you are just making small talk with friends over coffee. Someone asks a question. Then, all of a sudden, you find yourself caught up in something profound. You may leave the table with more questions than answers, but something has happened in the interim. A good conversation can change your life.

Over the last months, Roberto Miranda has had a series of conversations with Christian leaders around the region. These interviews are substantive and rich. These are not made-for-the-nightly-news sound-bites; they’re thoughtful and real, occurring at the speed of authentic human interaction.

Each episode is an hour in length and filled with experiences, stories, and insights on issues that Christian leaders around New England are grappling with today. If you want to be encouraged by stories of what God is doing in the region, strengthened with fresh insights, and formed spiritually, I think you’ll find these conversations valuable.

As a technical note, click on the link marked "Click Here" and not on the video image itself. You'll be redirected to a page where you can watch the videos and leave comments

Click Here to Watch the Video!

In this week's video, Roberto talks with Keith Tolley, Vision New England, Danvers MA;
and Jonathan Friz, Wisdom Way, Beverly MA, about "unity" in the New England Church.

New Video Series on Revival in New England

2012-01-17T12:39:00.000-08:00

Brandt Gillespie

For the last year, we’ve shared stories about God’s movement around New England.

From Cape Cod, to New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Boston, and even Cambridge, God is bringing believers together for prayer and partnership in unique and spiritually dynamic ways. For the next several weeks, we’re going to be sharing conversations with Christian leaders from around the region hosted by Dr. Roberto Miranda. Producer Brandt Gillespie introduces this new video series.

As a technical note, click on the link marked "Click Here" and not on the video image itself. You'll be redirected to a page where you can watch the videos and leave comments

Click Here to Watch the Video!

Dana Baker, Director of Multicultural Ministries, Grace Chapel,
Lexington MA; Roberto Miranda, Senior Pastor,
Congregación León de Judá, Boston MA;
and Dick Germaine, Barnabas Ministries, Hopkinton MA

What is the Spirit of the Lord saying to us?

Many speak of a stirring in their hearts to come along side one another, cooperate effectively, hear and understand what God is doing as clearly as possible. Some believe He is bringing sustained revival to our region and in our time. So in obedience to that still small voice, we take counsel in one another and seek Him in wisdom and truth.

Our prayer is simply: "Lord, let the conversation begin."

Dr. Roberto Miranda has hosted several high value conversations with some of the most thoughtful Christian leaders from the New England area to tackle some of the more difficult challenges standing in the way of forming partnerships to harness our diverse styles and unique personal callings.

By starting the first video, you will begin a significant conversational journey with fellow believers. It leads you to the first conversation entitled “Partnering” with Dr. Miranda, Dick Germaine of Barnabas Ministries, and Dana Baker, Director of Multicultural Ministries at Grace Chapel. However, this is only the gateway to other equally important interactions that we believe you will find valuable.

I am asking for your helpful feedback. There is a place provided for you to write your comments. Our production team will honestly read each one with interest and forward them to Dr. Miranda as well.

Thanks for your interest, comments and suggestions. If you know of other guests who you believe may be able to add something unique to these conversations please let me know.

Blessings,

Brandt Gillespie, President PrayTV

Is 2012 God's Year for Boston?

2012-01-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

Rev. Ralph Kee

Emmanuel Gospel Center

Greater Boston Church

Planting Collaborative

Fifteen Cambridge churches joined together in praising God on New Year’s Day 2012. About 800 people attended, standing, if necessary, around the edges of the main floor and balcony, even jamming the foyer. I could hardly contain my emotions: in today’s service, I saw with my own eye what I have been praying and working toward, for forty years.

In my mind my wife Joanne possibly gave her life for Cambridge. In 1982, a tiny church remnant invited us to begin a new church. Even though church planting there would put further stress on her while fighting ovarian cancer, my wife said, 'Ralph, we need to accept the invitation. Cambridge desperately needs a gospel ministry and gospel preaching churches.' Joanne died in 1984.

2012 is here. I believe I am witnessing God’s moment for Boston. One by one, and then in unity, God’s people are believing and siezing this moment. Let us pray that twelve months from now we will be astounded by what He has done in this needy metropolis. A year from today I want to praise God that 2012 the Gospel has been spread more than any other year in our lifetimes.

By Ralph Kee, Greater Boston Church Planting Collaborative

UNITY is stirring in Cambridge!

2012-01-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

Kelly Steinhaus
"One Kingdom Warrior"
Desires to inspire unity
among Christians
throughout greater Boston

On New Year's Day at the historic First Baptist Church in Central Square, the Cambridge Unity Sunday Morning Service marked the first time in the city's history that fifteen different congregations representing various Christian denominations assembled for a single Sunday morning worship service. (See participating ministries at end of article.)

The presence of God that filled the room was one of the closest things to revival that I have experienced. Before 11:00am, people of all denominations and cultures streamed in the doors to worship Jesus, until the church was overflowing.

Bishop Brian C. Greene
Senior Pastor, Pentecostal Tabernacle
Cambridge MA

Bishop Brian Greene of Pentecostal Tabernacle played an instrumental role in organizing this gathering. He believes that “Revival cannot come, unless the church is one.” I echo his belief, and the presence of God that filled the room was one of the closest things to revival that I have experienced. At 11:00am, people of all denominations and cultures kept streaming in to worship Jesus, until there was no more seats, and then barely any standing room. I was ushering at the service, but we all agreed that this was a good problem to have. We even had to bring in TV monitors so people could watch the service in the lobby.Pentecostal Tabernacle’s choir led us in worship as they sang chords which rang with heaven’s sounds.

Denominations, cultures, church identity fell to the wayside as we worshipped our one true God, Jesus Christ, together with one voice. It made me think of Revelation 7:9, where it describes heaven as “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.” Words honestly cannot describe this gathering, so I recorded video so everyone could see and experience it.

My friend Megan explained that, in ethnic congregations, there is a particular emphasis on the pastor’s first sermon in the new year. Congregation members wait in anticipation to hear what will be 'The Word of the Lord' for that coming year. Personally I was inspired by Pastor Larry Ward's message [senior pastor, Abundant Life Church]. He spoke on seeking the peace of our city – with prayer, equipping, assisting the poor, caring for the sick, and educating the next generation. Even more than that, I sensed how powerful it was for the churches in our region to have a collective vision to bring us into the new year.

Yes, God says that He commands a special blessing in unity (Psalm 133) – and every single person I talked to after the service said something to the effect of, 'That was really cool.' My friend and fellow ministry worker Ralph Kee said, 'I could hardly contain my emotions,' explaining that 'the many components of today’s service fulfilled my forty years of hopes for Cambridge (and all of Greater Boston)' Rev. Kee believes this service was a sign that 2012 will be the most productive year in our lifetimes for the gospel in our city.

Above all else, I came away with the sense that, 'This is the way it’s supposed to be.'

As the Church, each part of the body has a unique function, but we also must have opportunities to come together and remember that we are part of something larger. I see this type of regional worship gatherings becoming more and more common in the coming seasons and years. Jesus’ dying prayer is that the church would be one, 'in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.' (John 17:23, AMP) Gatherings like this – shared experiences that we have together as the body – break down the denominational and cultural walls and allow us to be the Church that God designed us to be."

By Kelly Steinhaus, Unite Boston

Read more from Kelly on her blog: http://onekingdomwarrior.com/2012/01/10/unity-is-stirring/

Participating Congregations:
A Place to Heal Ministries
Abundant Life Church
Bethel Assemblies of God
Calvary Praise & Worship Center
Cambridge Community Fellowship Church
Cambridge Church of the Nazarene
Cambridgeport Baptist Church
Christian Mission Holiness Church
First Baptist Church
First Holiness Church
Pentecostal Tabernacle
Journey Church
RUSH AME Zion Church
Spirit of Power Living Word Ministries International
Union Baptist Church

The Secret Place: Celebrating 70 weeks of 24-hour Prayer in Boston

2012-01-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

24/7 prayer at 3 Times Church at the Swedenborg Chapel
and NE Korean Methodist Church at Union United Methodist
(see end of article for details)

At 10 pm on a cold January Friday evening, an unexpected sound rises from the New Jerusalem Church on Harvard's campus. Around 20 people, mostly of Korean descent, are lifting up choruses of worship in both Korean and English. As the crowd grows, so does the worship, soon filling the seats in the small church basement. Joshua Hungsoo Park, a mentor to Korean students at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, exhorts those gathered to pray for God's purposes at Harvard University. As he does, what feels like a wave hits the room as it erupts with prayer, "Korean Style".

The room rumbles and roars with the sound of many waters, a cacophony of voices in many languages, of cries, of tears: the sound of fervent prayer. Contrary to what you might expect, the roar of prayer creates a space of immense quiet where each soul is intimately poured out to God. The palpable power of God released in the room by the prayer demands attention; the noise can be better than music and I feel privileged to be in the same room with these people. And they’re just getting started. This prayer meeting will go on for another 23 hours, finally ending at 10pm the next day. Perhaps most telling is this: the 24 hour prayer meeting has been going on every week for 70 weeks.

Origins

In the summer of 2010, God was stirring in the hearts of Joshua Park and Steve Kim to begin weekly prayer for God’s purposes in the city of Boston. As students at Gordon Conwell seminary, they were leaders in a daily prayer meeting that had brought many students at the seminary into a new experience of God. God had been moving on their hearts for several years, impacting them with the history of revival and awakening in the New England region. Together, they began to dream with Seminary Mentor Joshua Hungsoo Park, prayer organizer Miwon Oh, and professor and international speaker Daniel Pak about what this weekly prayer might look like.

Initially, the idea was to simply do two or three hours a week somewhere on Harvard’s campus. Joshua relates what was on their hearts at that time: 'We had a strong sense that we needed to start praying for the city of Boston, especially for the campuses.' Dr. Daniel Pak, former professor at Michigan University and itinerant speaker, suggested, 'Why not pray overnight—when you pray overnight, there will be breakthrough.'

Praying overnight weekly is difficult enough, but Miwon felt the Lord was looking for even more. 'In my heart I felt like Holy Spirit challenged me that if I wanted to see 24/7 prayer in the city of Boston, why not start with one day for 24 hours?' From the start, this journey has required a radical dependence on God. 'God gave us a heart especially for the Harvard area. At that time, we didn’t even have a place to pray. God opened up a location in Harvard to bring us into the heart of that area for prayer.'

Beginnings

Friday night, September 10, 2010 was the first night of prayer. Initially, there was not even a place to host the entire 24 hours. The first twelve hours were hosted at Harvard and the second twelve hours were at the prayer room at Gordon-Conwell, almost 30 miles away in Hamilton, MA. The organizers divided the entire day into three-hour segments and assigned a coordinator to each three-hour segment. At first, it was difficult to fill the entire 24 hours. Joshua relates the struggle of the first few months: 'Sometimes we would have slots that had no people or only one person. Initially, we were not able to fill the entire time because we didn’t have enough people.'

In December of 2010, a location in Allston became available so that all 24 hours could be in the city. A group from the Korean Methodist church began to engage and carry the prayer on Saturday during the day. The new location and participants were a turning point, and from that time on, all 24 hours have been covered.

Impact

People often wonder about others who pray a lot. It seems to them that nothing happens in prayer. The reality, of course, is quite different. Miwon shares, 'In prayer, we’re not trying to store or build anything, but just trying to bring up the water and soften the ground. I felt that God spoke to me, ‘When other people try to plant on the soil [of Cambridge and Boston], they will see the difference from your prayers.’ The prayer is not unto our ministries—it goes continually as water to bless the entire Body.” Since the weekly prayer began, five American churches and one Korean church have been planted in the Harvard area.

The prayer has also had a powerful impact on the participants. Miwon relates that 'as we pray, God gives each one of us a heart for specific ministries. Each one of us has a specific role and we discover that role as we continue in prayer. The ministry vision that is birthed in the prayer room is then expressed in the wider body of Christ.'

'In these times of prayer, we felt that God gave us individual restoration. He also gathered individuals who prayed individually together in one vessel and one body. Our individual prayers were able to come together—so many people were praying individually but praying together had more impact.'

Destination

"The last year and half of prayer has impacted the participants and strengthened the body of Christ in ways we certainly cannot quantify. However, many of the participants see this as just the beginning of something much larger that God is doing in Boston, and their vision extends far beyond the Korean community. Miwon’s original vision of 24/7 prayer in Boston is still very much alive. Joshua puts it this way: 'We believe God is going to raise up an army of prayer to make Boston a City of Prayer.'

"Although their prayer meetings have always included both Korean and English, this year they’re beginning to intentionally engage with English speaking leaders and even leaders from other ethnic communities in Boston.

"Miwon shares, 'Our goal is really simple, not just the Korean community praying within their own boundaries. Instead, we want to merge with other praying people in the city of Boston. We don’t want to start a ministry and say “Come and join”. We really want to join as one Body in the city of Boston, to join with various groups who are praying for the city of Boston.'

Article by: Jonathan Friz, NE Alliance

Friday-Saturday Weekly 24 Hour Prayer:

Hosted at: 3 Times Church at the Swedenborg Chapel

10pm-9am
50 Quincy St.
Cambridge, MA 02138

Then moving to: NE Korean Methodist Church at Union United Methodist

9am-9pm
485 Columbus Ave.
Boston, MA 02118

"When God is Known in the Land: The Story of the Glory of God in Cape Cod"

2011-11-27T17:31:00.000-08:00

Egyptian Prologue

For 27-year-old Mamdouh Riad, revival was the last thing on his mind as he walked Cairo’s crowded streets.

Mamdouh grew up in Cairo in a Coptic Orthodox Christian family. He attended medical school in

Egypt

, where he met his American wife, Cynthia. While he was a student, he attended a conference hosted by a vibrant Presbyterian church that had an active campus ministry. Unsure of what to expect, Mamdouh left the gathering radically changed. Years later, the experience is still fresh: “All I can say is that I once was blind, but now I see.”

In the midst of a spiritual awakening, Mamdouh still had to pass his rigorous medical exams in order to be able to practice medicine in

America

. The exams were so difficult and rigorous that they consumed all his thoughts. He had nothing on his mind regarding spiritual matters.

He had no idea he was on the verge of a transforming encounter with the Lord.

Now, as he walked the noisy streets of Cairo, totally focused on his exams, he suddenly heard God speaking to him in an internal audible voice: “Do you know what revival is?” The words literally reverberated through his body as he walked. “I was very surprised by the question. Revival was the furthest thing from my mind at that moment. It is almost embarrassing how uninterested I was.” Thankfully, God had an answer ready. He heard the Lord say: “Revival is when I am known in the land.”

Mamdouh took note of this experience and moved on with life. “As I studied the scriptures, I came to understand that this was a very Biblical definition of revival. It occurred to me that someday I would be involved in a revival movement that would lead to God being known in the land.”

The Glory of God

Mamdouh and Cynthia moved to

America

and settled in Cape Cod. “We moved to the

, began to attend church, raise a family, practice medicine. I was just minding my own business.”

In the midst of minding his own business, the Egyptian doctor had another strong stirring from the Lord in June of 2004:

“I was stirred with a very clear message and a particular phrase ‘the Glory of God on Cape Cod.’ By ‘the glory of God’, I understood specifically ‘the manifest presence of God’ both on His people and visible to unbelievers. This was the message that stirred me: We’re called to have his glory upon us, it’s our inheritance, but we are not living fully into our inheritance. When the manifest presence of God is upon his people, unbelievers recognize who God is. In contrast, when the glory lifts off his people, unbelievers mock and reproach the church saying, ‘where is your God’? It’s not right for things to be like this in the Church. We’re in the spiritual equivalent of

Israel

’s Babylonian captivity. Church as we know it is our norm. It’s all we’ve experienced and we’ve never seen anything else. But this is not the way things are supposed to be.”

Gathering for God’s Glory

Having a message is one thing; the challenging part is figuring out what to do with it.

“I began to ask myself, ‘what am I going to do—I’m just a person in the marketplace’. So, I started speaking with pastors, inviting them to breakfast, and then began to share what God had put on my heart. One pastor would respond, then the next week I’d meet with two pastors. Some resonated with the message and others did not.”

By September of 2004, this group of like-minded believers from a few area churches had started a prayer meeting twice a month at Mamdouh’s home.

Pastor of New Life Christian Center in Dennisport remembers those breakfasts in 2004. “Mamdouh put voice to what was already resting in our hearts…We started meeting every second Wednesday to pray for one item only…that the glory of God would come on Cape Cod.” That Wednesday prayer meeting has now been going on twice a month for 7 years.

In March of 2006, the pastors that were involved in the breakfast prayer meeting wrote a letter together to all the born-again pastors they knew of on the Cape. They even scoured the phone-book. Pastors all over the Cape were invited to join together and pray for God to be known in the land; some began to respond.

Initiatives

“We had no plan, no blueprint; we didn’t know what to do. We just showed up. We didn’t want to initiate from our good ideas; we just began to pray, and followed God.”—Mamdouh Riad

In January of 2007, the group began to sense God’s leading for a Cape Cod Sacred Assembly—a Cape wide gathering for repentance and intercession. The gathering happened on Sept. 22 (Yom Kippur) at a local high-school with close to 700 participants. This 2007 Sacred Assembly would serve as inspiration for the New England Solemn Assemblies from 2008-2010.

Pastor Bob Condon of Gateway Christian Center was surprised by the hunger and the number of the participants at the first Assembly. “Sometimes as shepherds we feel like we have to drag the sheep to the water—we were amazed to see how people responded and their hunger to be involved in something like this.”

The Cape Sacred Assembly was followed by other Cape-wide gatherings in 2008 and 2009 and the bi-weekly prayer meeting continued at the Riad’s home. In 2009, the group was stirred to take the prayer meeting outside the Riad’s home to move it from church to church. Since 2009, there’s been a corporate, multi-church prayer meeting once a month. This mobile meeting has moved all-over the Cape from Wareham to Truro—the last town before Provincetown.

Ed de la Cour, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pocasset for 25 years, loved hosting the meeting at his church. “When the monthly prayer meeting came to our church, the place was packed! There was a whole season of prayer for our church. It was a God thing and God showed up…I mean, When a Baptist says he ‘feels the presence of God’, you’ve got to pay attention to that!”

However, this “God thing” seems to happen everywhere the meetings go. Ed says, “One of the indications that ‘it’s a God thing’ is that music style, denominational background, whatever, it doesn’t matter—God shows up everywhere and everywhere is different. It’s never the same; it’s always different but always very beautiful.”

Starting in the fall of 2011, the group has initiated “Cape Vision Sunday.” “Two pastors from churches not like yours will show up on Sunday morning”, says Ed, “demonstrating to the congregation that here are two pastors that are willing to forgo their own worship service to stand up with our pastor and declare ‘we are one with this guy.’” This effectively gets the vision into the hands of the people and also demonstrates the unity of the pastors who stand together, speak together, and even sacrifice being at their own churches to do this together.

Unity

“Part of our testimony on Cape Cod [to the outside world] is that the walls and doors in the church are coming down. There’s an acceptance of one another; a reaching out to each other that’s happening.”—Stephen Russell, New Life Christian Center

As in other movements around New England, Unity is a hallmark of what’s happening on the Cape. About 20 churches are involved from a diverse denominational background including Anglican, CMA, Nazarene, Vineyard, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Non-denominational, and Pentecostal congregations.

For pastor Ed, the unity is all-about friendship. “What’s happening is based on relationship—there’s a sense of long-standing relationship with people of integrity. I’d love to be their friends and hang out with them. If they prosper and I don’t prosper, I’ll still say ‘Yeah God!’”

For Bob Condon, who has pastored on the Cape for 10 years, the growing unity is the greatest visible fruit of the last seven years. “It’s very different than it was 10 years ago with guys competing with each other, judging one another. You really just don’t see that anymore at all. The journey to get to where we are has been difficult at times, but we’re coming to a “wide open place” of peace and rest among us.”

Dwelling Place

“Unity positions us to be a dwelling for God’s presence. Together, we’re becoming a place for the Holy Spirit to be comfortable—a dwelling place for God.”—Mamdouh Riad

The goal of the Glory of God in Cape Cod is to see genuine revival, where God is known on Cape Cod by everyone, whether they follow Him or not. Believers are sensing the tide rising on the Cape as the Body of Christ cries out and is knit together in love through these united gatherings.

While a lot of progress has been made, Ed also sees room for growth. “We’ve got a long ways to go. We only have 20 out of 60 evangelical churches on the Cape involved, so there’s a ways to go, but God has been faithful.”

Mamdouh sees what’s happening on the Cape as part of a much larger picture of God’s activity around the world in these times, times where God is shaking everything that can be shaken: “We believe that these stirrings are God preparing His people to come together ahead of a time of both great glory and great darkness in the world. We believe the whole earth is heading toward a time described in Isaiah 60, a time of birthpangs, both great difficulty in the world and great glory on the Church.”

“It’s important for us to recognize that we need to prepare an infrastructure so we can be positioned to be a prophetic voice and a place of refuge for the world in the coming season.”

At a time when it seems the whole world holds the church in contempt, Jesus continues to build His church, filling it with such love and power that “the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” He’s building something unshakeable, something that darkness cannot touch. On Cape Cod, throughout New England, and around the world, dry-bones are coming together as the Lord fashions life from the dust once again. Let’s give thanks as before our very eyes we see stone joined to stone and bone to bone.

By: Jonathan Friz, New England Alliance

From interviews with:

Mamdouh Riad, The Glory of God on Cape Cod

Pastor Ed de la Cour, First Baptist Church, Pocasset

Pastor Bob Condon, Gateway Christian Center, Mashpee

Pastor Stephen Russell, New Life Christian Center, Dennisport

For more information on this movement, please visit www.thegloryofgodoncapecod.com

When God Throws a Halloween Party

2011-11-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Sometimes, God does things that are so good they're almost hard to believe. This Halloween, over a dozen ministries from around NE and the country partnered in "the Love Project", 60 hours of sustained prayer combined with outreach on the streets of Salem, MA. While the groups sustained worship and prayer in a local church, teams went out on the streets of Salem to minister to the revelers.

During three days, the teams saw over 150 physical healings, more than two dozen people make professions of faith, and were able to minister personal prophecy to over 200 people. Some groups reported that everyone who came to them for healing was healed. Many people who were ministered to left blown away by the experience of God's love that came through these young people.

Now, I know--Christians in the past have had a reputation for exaggerating numbers. Growing up in the church, this would drive me crazy! In order to combat that, we've deliberately estimated the total numbers "down" rather than "up". Just one group of around 8 people saw 70 healings in just three hours time on Halloween night. Many of the people who reported being healed that night were openly mocking the team--they came in skeptical, they left rocked by God. Our point is this--In what seems like a very dark place, a lot of people who were not expecting it were getting powerfully touched by the love and power of Jesus. We were able to capture hours of testimony, most of which we were not able to fit into the video update.

For some, this kind of outreach and it's results may not fit into your theological grid. You may see "this kind of thing" as representing some other kind of Christian group other than your own. If that's you, I'd like you to consider that miracles accompanying the proclamation of the gospel is actually central to how the gospel is preached the Scriptures. This is a highly Biblical way of doing evangelism.

For others, it may just be so far outside of what you've experienced personally, as to be almost incredible. I'd ask you to watch and listen with an open mind. We have to let Scripture and the Holy Spirit, not our experience, determine what's possible and what's normal. God is transforming the culture of the Church so that what once was unusual or exceptional is becoming normal. And yes, even if you haven't experienced it to this point, God is wants you to do "this kind of thing" too!

I hope you're encouraged by God's work in our midst. May it continue and increase!

Jonathan Friz

Report on 10 Days Boston from Kelly Steinhaus

2011-11-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

10 Days of worship, prayer, and fasting, building up to the Boston Night of Worship on October 9...

From September 29 to October 9, I worked with two other leaders in the area to organize and plan 10 Days Boston, which involved two daytime prayer sets each day, as well as evening gatherings happening in churches throughout the city. In the planning, we intentionally reached out to a variety of denominations and people groups throughout the city. I felt that each night I experienced a different part of the heart of God - it's not every day you get to worship with Koreans or say Psalm 133 in Arabic. It truly gives you an understanding that truly it is Christ who binds the Church together.

One huge blessing was that a gentleman in the area offered to video updates for us during the ten days. So even if you weren't here in the Boston area, or weren't able to participate, you can still check out what God was doing!

Here's a video about the vision of the 10 Days - graciously prepared by the video team at Pentecostal Tabernacle and beautifully done:

Here are the video updates that Brandt Gillespie of Pray.tv prepared for us. I served as the "on-scene reporter"...I never imagined that I would be on some sort of televised production, but sometimes God surprises us with the opportunities that come our way!

Personally, I feel completely grown, changed through this experience. It was an incredible season for me - not simply from the ten days, but from the entire process of working with my brothers Jonathan and Frank - catching the vision and running with it to mobilize leaders of congregations in different churches. Each evening gathering had about an average of fifty to one hundred people in attendance - so to think that this vision touched 500 to 1000 people in the area is pretty incredible. I sense that there is a fabric that is being interwoven, knitted together among the body, and that rather than the end of the ten days, this is the beginning...

I have also experienced a greater understanding as to the transformative power of prayer and fasting. There is something about fasting that enables you to completely die to yourself and rely only on Christ. That, coupled with spending 7+ hours a day in the presence of God, praying, worshipping, journaling, being with God's people - my heart feels completely soft to the movings of the spirit. Right now, I don't want to do anything to quench His spirit, His leadings. As the fast concluded, I feel a sort of resurrection to new life. I now have a greater sense of what God is saying and doing, a clearer voice, greater intimacy than before, and I praise Him for that.

Corporately, what I am beginning to understand is that there is something released between individuals when they decide to pray and fast together - deciding to consecrate not only their time but their physical nourishment for the sake of Christ together. This engages hearts, minds, bodies, and souls and begins to bring them together into a spiritual union. One tangible expression of this was during the Arabic and Messianic Jewish gathering where Pastor Khokhlan washed the feet of his Arab brothers as a symbol of reconciliation among the people groups (see video update #3 for real-time footage)

Jonathan remarked how he now doesn't see the colors of people's skin anymore - as though there is no difference at all, or that the differences are something highly valuable. I feel similarly - and it was a running joke that Frank called Jonathan and myself his "twin brother and sister." As the ten days progressed, an incredible sense of brotherly love began to emerge between Frank, Jonathan, and myself - and we couldn't even sit at the Boston Night of Worship in separate seats without texting one another, longing to worship together as we had for the past ten days.

Colossians 3:14 says "Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." My question is - what could God do with a church that is united like that? What if not just dozens, but hundreds, thousands of Christians were able to experience that spiritual union and the cords of love that bound us together...What if, instead of just joining in this movement for one evening gathering or a few daytime prayer sets, what if people decided to truly devote and dedicate the ten days to God and to the Church in this city? When the Church is truly united as one, we will be a force to be reckoned with...

--Kelly Steinhaus, Unite Boston

Cry Out America! Suffolk County

2011-08-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

On September 11, 2011, believers in Jesus Christ will gather in every county of the United States for prayer on the 10th Anniversary of the 9-11 Attacks.
Time: Sunday September 11, 2-3pm
Location: NE corner of the Boston Common near Park St Station

We in Suffolk County, the Greater Boston area, are in a unique position as we mark this anniversary. 10 years ago, two jets left Logan Airport and flew into the World Trade Center in New York City.

In many ways this was symbolic of what our city has become. We were founded to be a city set on a hill, the only major city in the world outside of Jerusalem founded on a covenant with God. Instead of being a point of light, in many ways we have become “a byword among the nations.” We believe that we can still tap into the ancient wells of our city, and be a light to the world.

Join us at 2pm Sunday September 11, 2011 on the Boston Common, for one hour of concerted prayer for our nation and the city of Boston.

We will gather on the Northeast corner of the Common, not far from the State House, and near Park Street Station.We ask that you encourage your church to spread the word, and also pray the following prayer in your church on Sunday, September 11, 2011.

Heavenly Father,
Source of all Life, Freedom, and Joy:
We pray for our nation,
and for Suffolk County Massachusetts.
We have permitted sin,
broken covenants,
and allowed the shedding of innocent blood.
You have heard our many cries of repentance.
Now we ask that you bring forth a new birth of freedom to this city,
a second American Revolution of righteousness,
and a Third Great Awakening.
May we return to the original destiny for Boston,
and reopen the ancient wells of revival.
We are asking for a mighty move of the Holy Spirit,
unlike any before in human history.
All this we ask for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray.
Amen.Christ Otto, Suffolk County Coordinator, Cry Out America.
Questions may be directed to belonginghouse@gmail.com.

Become a Chaplain

2011-08-28T11:33:00.001-07:00

Chaplain LeSette Wright
President, CUME Alumni Association
See website for dates and times.

Prepare to become a chaplain and to render spiritual aid in personal crises and community-wide disasters. This intensive 45 hour course of training for certification for chaplaincy is open to non-clergy. Course includes (but not limited to): critical incident stress, critical incident stress management, critical incident stress debriefing, grief and loss, trauma, domestic violence, disaster relief, depression, human trafficking. Details on the Boston event and the International Fellowship of Chaplains.

72 Hours of Prayer

2011-08-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

Consolata Apwapo writes: Dear Beloved of God,

The Lord bless you and keep you. We thank God for yet another opportunity to spend time in His Presence together. Together with Grace Ministries International, Intercity Prayer Altars Network invites you to 72 Hours of Prayer, including a Day of Declaration at Capitol Hill, Concord NH.

Date and Time: Wed Oct 12, 7pm- Sat Oct 15, 7pm

Start Location: Grace Ministries International, 263 Rt 125, Brentwood, NH from Wednesday at 7 pm - Saturday 12 noon.

End Location: Capitol Hill Sat afternoon, 12pm-7pm.

Theme: Repositioning Ourselves for Dominion!

Isaiah 22:22-23

²² The key of the house of David
I will lay on his shoulder;
So he shall open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
²³ I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place,
And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.

Vision Statement

God is mindful of us and wants to visit us with His power and glory. He has made us a little lower than the angels and has crowned us with His glory and honor. He has made us to have dominion over the works of His hands; He has put all things under our feet! With this in mind, we need to Reposition ourselves to walk in our God given Dominion!

Come into His Presence and Reposition yourself for dominion to be true witnesses of the Kingdom of God and for Jesus Christ! Imitating Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith,seeing yourself as God sees you.

Register

Consolata, Intercity Prayer Altars Network 781-888-2895

Beverly, Grace Ministries International 603-642-7848

We look forward to spending time together in the Presence of our Father!

10 Days Boston and BNOW

2011-08-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

For the last three years, believers around New England have partnered together to do a Fall Solemn Assembly that was linked with 10 days of worship, fasting, and prayer based on the fall “Feasts of the Lord”.

On March 7, during a time of listening prayer regarding the Solemn Assembly, the Lord made it very clear that he had something different in mind for the “Solemn Assembly” this year. The Lord said that it would be a celebration, that it would happen on October 9th in Boston, and that others were also hearing from God about this and it would involve many different threads coming together.

As you can imagine, I was somewhat taken aback by the shift in emphasis for the Fall Gathering. I almost felt like God was winking at me—“just trust me Son”.

At that time, plans were already underway to do “10 Days Boston” this fall (September 29 to October 9). In response to this word, a group of us began to dream about a fall 10 day city-wide gathering of worship, fasting, and prayer that would culminate (somewhat differently from past years) in a celebratory gathering on Sunday, Oct 9.

A Divine Set-up

A few days later, I spoke with Zenzo Matoga who has been organizing the Boston Night of Worship. Zenzo shared with me the startling fact that BNOW was being planned for Sunday, October 9th--the same day the Lord had said to "bring threads together.” It was a moment of clarity—God had been setting us up! Personally, I was blown away by some of the similar ways that God was speaking to us, including the sense that this year would be a "Celebration" (consistent with BNOW) rather than a "Joel 2" Solemn Assembly.

This summer, after further confirmations from the Lord that left absolutely no doubt in our minds as to His direction, the 10 Days Boston planning team and the Boston Night of Worship team agreed to a common vision to align the 10 Days Boston with BNOW this year. In past years, the 10 days has culminated in a NE Solemn Assembly--this year it will build up to the Boston Night of Worship on October 9^th.

While the character of the 10 Days will stay the same (focus on God doing a deep work in our hearts, opening ourselves up to personal repentance, and longing for Christ’s return) we’ll hit a different high-note than years past with the Boston Night of Worship. This is all part of God bringing threads together—I can’t wait to see what he does through this!

10 Days Boston: What if?

All of us worship and pray on a daily basis. However, there are some moments in time where our regular rhythms are not enough, where God invites us to set aside ordinary life in order to seek His face with extra-ordinary focus and passion. God uses these times of consecration to strengthen the simplicity of our faith in Jesus Christ, to deepen our love for one another, to breathe fresh vision, and to bring personal and corporate breakthroughs. After these times of consecration, our “normal” life is deeply affected, reviving us with a deeper awareness of God’s presence in all circumstances.

Can you imagine what it would look like, if at the same moment in time, thousands within the Church of Boston set-aside “normal” in order to seek God’s face together?

Can you imagine thousands of believers overwhelmed by fresh revelation of who Jesus Christ really is, and who we are in Him? Perhaps thousands will have personal breakthroughs in a short period of time. Many of us have witnessed when just one person in a local congregation has a profound encounter with Jesus, it can affect the entire congregation. What if thousands had this experience within a short period of time and then came together on October 9^th for extravagant worship? Could it be the turning point for an entire city?

10 Days Boston: The Plan

Of course, the heart of 10 Days Boston is followers of Jesus setting themselves apart to seek God with united worship, fasting, and prayer. Fundamentally, we’re asking you to set yourself apart and go deep with God during these 10 Days.

With a deep sense of thankfulness for what Christ has done for us, 10 Days Boston will be characterized by an unapologetic desire for “more”. Through concerted worship and fasting, we are expressing a deep longing for more of God in our own lives, for love, purity, and power in the Church, as well as intentionally “longing for and hastening the day” of Christ’s return.

There will also be three ways we’ll be seeking God corporately

1) Nightly Gatherings (Sept 29-Oct 8) hosted by different groups of believers in different locations. Together with believers around metro Boston, we’re planning a mobile gathering of worship and prayer that touches every corner of the city of Boston and engages the city-wide church. Each night from 7-9pm, a different group of congregations will host a gathering of worship and prayer in a different part of the city. See our schedule to see who’s hosting, find locations, and get directions

2) Daily, Ongoing Prayer (Sept 29-Oct 8) The evening gatherings will move all around the city. During the day the worship and prayer will continue with two set “prayer hubs”, one in Cambridge and one in South Boston. As God calls you, we’d encourage you to engage in daily, corporate worship and prayer during the 10 Days

3) A Culminating Gathering: Boston Night of Worship on Oct 9 is the final, celebratory gathering. Make sure you’re not still fasting at this point! We’re coming together to celebrate the finished work of the Cross and declare that “Jesus Christ is Lord over Boston”.

www.uniteboston.com will be the online hub for locations and scheduling. We’ll be sending regular email updates as the schedule solidifies.

A Call to the Region

In addition to this call to Boston, we are inviting believers around New England to worship, fast, and pray from September 29-October 8 and then join us in Boston on October 9^th for the Boston Night of Worship. We’re hoping to see city and area-wide churches set themselves apart during these days to humble themselves, pray, turn from sin, and turn towards God’s face. We hope you can join us as well.

Blessings,

Jonathan Friz and the 10 Days Boston Team

Boston Night of Worship

2011-08-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

Over 100 local worshippers united across cultural, denominational, and social lines will unite on one stage at the 8,000-seater Agganis Arena. Let's come and shake the city with our worship and rededicate New England back to Jesus! Joining us this year are guest worship leaders Tye Tribbett and Jared Anderson of Desperation Band.

REGISTER NOW!

To buy tickets in person, visit our website for a list of locations
Groups of 20 or more, contact the arena directly at 617-353-4628

"FRIENDS OF BNOW" Program! Preferred floor seating, a free T-shirt and the NEW BNOW DVD! This offer is available for a donation of $65 to help us make BNOW 2011 a great success.

E-mail us for more information or call Amy @ 617-953-5219.

To Join BNOW 2011 Choir and for Volunteer Opportunities, come to one of our Mobilization Meetings, starting THIS FRIDAY! Spread the word to everyone you know!

August 5, 7:00pm @ Lion of Judah Church, 68 Northampton St., Boston, MA 02118
August 13, 10:00am @ International Family Church, 99 Concord St., N. Reading, MA 01864
August 20, 10:00am @ Jubilee Christian Church, 1500 Blue Hill Ave., Mattapan, MA 02126
August 27, 10:00am @ Life Church, 4000 Mystic Valley Pkwy, Medford, MA 02155

10 Days Boston/United Night of Prayer

We will be praying for 10 days leading up to BNOW 2011. For a list of locations go towww.UniteBoston.com
Come and be part of the first "United Night of Prayer-Boston" 2 days before BNOW 2011 on Friday, Oct. 7th @ 7pm, Jubilee Christian Church, 1500 Blue Hill Ave., Mattapan, MA 02126

"Praise and Worship From United and Desperate Hearts Will Shake the Foundation of a City!"

"That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." John 17:21-23

Connect with us at:

www.unitednightofworship.com

United Night of Worship

PO Box 51934

Boston, MA 02205

Tel. 978.476.2446 or603.738.2253
facebook twitter

Report on 10 Days North Shore

2011-06-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

Report on the 10 Days North Shore 2011, June 2-12

It’s always a privilege to be able to write good news! I am so grateful for God’s work through the 10 days north shore and for the personal sacrifices that many made to offer a weighty sacrifice to Jesus. He is worthy of it and I sense His pleasure as we learn increasingly to recognize and respond to His worthiness.

Presence is our Purpose

The focus of the 10 days is always on adoring Jesus Christ and welcoming His Presence into our midst. This year was no exception. Throughout the days, in the evenings, and through the night watches, our focus was on Jesus Christ and our goal to make His presence welcome in our midst. My best memories of the 10 days this year are of sitting at the piano worshipping at the feet of Jesus, or of enjoying his presence in the evening with my spiritual family, or of praying for someone hurting and seeing His presence minister to them.

I love seeing the change that comes over people as they remain in God’s presence for hours and hours. A static expression changes into a gaping smile, fear, despair, and worry are wiped away and replaced with joy and hope. I love hearing the stories of how God moves when we simply remain near to Him. Long-term problems fall away in an instant, God shows us what’s next in our lives, we receive the encouragement we need for the road ahead. Friends, we come alive in His presence! We were never meant to function apart from it.

Warfare and Worship

Sometimes in prayer, we see only Jesus. These are my favorite times. Other times, there is an awareness that the enemy is opposing us in prayer. We see this in the Scriptures in Daniel 10, where Daniel’s prayers were resisted for 21 days before Gabriel and Michael brought a breakthrough. This year, I had a strong awareness that the enemy was resisting us. When we experience spiritual opposition, we respond in the opposite spirit! The enemy, of course, is trying to get us all worked up with fear, despair, anxiety, and beating ourselves or each other up. In “spiritual warfare”, we fight despair with hope, we bring peace and joy to bear on the situation. Most of all, we worship and declare the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Indeed, God has put all things under His feet!

The good thing about warfare is that when there is warfare, we win. God has promised victory and we always have it when we persevere. This year, the warfare seemed to come to a head on Thursday, June 9th during the day. It had been an intense series of days in the prayer room. That afternoon after exultant worship, two men named Gabriel and Michael received Christ at a nearby restaurant. We rejoiced for them, and also took it as encouragement from the Lord that His angels were fighting for us. As evening brought in an intense thunder and wind storm, there was a sense among many of us that “it’s finished”. Often times in prayer you receive a “burden” and then after praying through it there is a sense of completion. I don’t totally know how to describe it, but I knew Thursday night that whatever we were doing in our prayers had been completed.

Celebrate Statistics!

Numbers are not really a reliable indicator of quality. However, sometimes numbers all by themselves can be encouraging. Consider this:

Upwards of 17 North Shore Congregations and 6 local ministries participated actively.

13 of those local congregations hosted an evening gathering

A total of 10 evenings, 8 days, and 6 all-nights were filled with near-continous worship and prayer. We shared in communion together each evening. In addition, the fellowship among area believers was especially sweet.

Many people were fasting during this time as well—we have no idea how many, but are grateful!

We had between 25 and 75 people each evening with around 250 on the final evening at Christ the Redeemer.

More than Skin Deep

Behind the numbers is the good stuff--the width and depth of relationship and partnership among believers on the North Shore. This partnership is not skin-deep but has grown out of genuine and durable friendships formed in our local pastors group as well as the relationships of believers throughout the area. Because gatherings like these are borne out of relationships and friendships, we can expect to see more partnership of this kind in future years.

Where do we go from here: Making the city-wide Church visible

In the New Testament, the word “church” could refer to a group of believers who met in a house (the church that meets at so-and-so’s house). It could also refer to all believers everywhere (the “capital C” church). However, often the word “church” is used to refer to all the believers in an area (the church of Ephesus, Philadelphia, or Boston). Your city or geographical area has a “Church”. The question is, does that city-wide or area wide church have any sense of corporate identity? Is there any communication infrastructure, any shared sense of leadership and vision? Are there relationships of love and trust between leaders of the various congregations?

The vision of these extended seasons of corporate worship is to make visible “the church on the North Shore”. If we are really “one in Christ”, there needs to be an expression of that. A “corpuscular church” model, where each congregation essential functions entirely independently or with relation only to its own denomination, will not be able to withstand the spiritual and perhaps even physical pressures of the days ahead. The time is right for us to move forward in making visible the city-wide church and gatherings like 10 days are part of God’s strategy to bring unity. Consider the following thoughts from Francis Frangipane:

“We can have national days of prayer, regional weeks of supplication---we can even call tens of thousands to pray for specific areas to change, but if the church which dwells in that area is bound and divided by strife, the enemy will not be plundered. Whenever we pray against the spiritual forces of wickedness over a region, our first line of offense is praying for the churches to be united in their worship and their warfare. Why pray for the church? If "there is jealousy and selfish ambition" in the church, there will inevitably be "disorder and every evil thing" in that locality (James 3:16).”

“Therefore, we conclude: It takes a citywide church to win the citywide war. All of our individual evangelistic programs, our Sunday teachings and aggressive attempts to bind principalities and powers are only of limited value if we, the born-again church, remain divided. However, even as one person"s transformation from carnality to the image of Christ can revolutionize a church, so the transformation of the citywide church into the image of Christ can revolutionize a city.”

See the entire Article here:

Father, we pray that you would raise up a united Church in cities and towns across New England. Show us a new way to live together as your people where we value the diversity of the many tribes and also reveal that we are all “one nation” with a common identity in Christ. Cast down despair and cynicism and raise up expectant hope and unrelenting faith. Fill us with love for one another “as Jesus has loved us” so that the world will see that You sent Jesus and that You have loved us just like you loved Him.

Let it be Lord!

--Jonathan Friz, June 21 2011

2011-06-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

You are invited to the upcoming 24hrs of Prayer in Boston, June 24th-25th, Fri 8am-Sat 8am.
Individual Churches and Ministries will lead 1-2 hrs of Worship and Prayer within the 24hrs of Prayer.To get involved, please sign up/confirm your participation[ by call/e-mail] as Worship team, Prayer leader or Minister of the Gospel.

Consolata Apwapo, coordinator of ICPAN

Please email at a.conso@yahoo.com to sign up!

2011-06-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

CONVERGE BOSTON

Faneuil Hall | 2pm-4pm

With Bethany & Darrell Temple, Jonathan Friz, Linda Clark, Jon & Jolene Hamill, more

Jon & Jolene Hamill request the honor of your presence as we seek God together to impact the root of our nation with His glory! New England is covenant ground. Join us Saturday as we reaffirm this covenantal legacy and welcome a move of Holy Spirit awakening and union.

We begin in Massachusetts, “the Spirit of America.” Then on July 4, we will converge in our nation’s capitol to present a Declaration of Covenant, affirming our foundational dedication to Jesus Christ and asking God to restore our land and government according to our covenantal foundations. Key national and regional leaders are coming—with no other agenda than to affirm this consecration.

Why? Because covenant precedes revival. We truly believe this is our nation’s greatest hope is, as Isaiah articulated, “to Him your land shall be married.”

Three teams—north, south, and west—are traversing historic wells of awakening and Civil War battlefields en route to Washington DC. We are calling our journey the “11-11 Campaign.” The Pilgrims cut covenant with Christ on 11-11, 1620. John 11:11 gives the best biblical definition of awakening I know. “Lazarus our friend has fallen asleep. But I go that I may awaken him from slumber!”

Prophetic Framework of 11-11 Campaign
The 11-11 Campaign has been framed prophetically by two key prophecies from Rick Ridings. In 1998, Rick prophesied at Faneuil Hall that Mobile Alabama would break forth in revival. He then saw a wind tunnel connecting Mobile and Boston. According to Rick, the wind tunnel would “open with an initial burst,” and the winds of Holy Spirit awakening would be released across the eastern seabord.

As of 2010, Mobile is in revival. And highly unusual tornadic activity between Alabama and Massachusetts seems to indicate THE WIND TUNNEL IS NOW OPEN. Could it be we are now on the precipice of revival?!!! Our south team will be in Mobile while we are in Boston, asking together for Holy Spirit awakening and union.

More information and prophetic insights at www.lamplighterministries.net

5th Friday Prayer is April 29th!

2011-04-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

Quarterly United Prayer meetings are part of our unique spiritual heritage in New England, dating back to the time of the 1st Great Awakening.

When: Friday night, April 29

Where: Wherever you are! It's up to local fellowships to organize gatherings in their area. New Hampshire usually leads the way in the number of gatherings

What should I do: We'd love to hear about any meetings that are being hosted--please post meeting times and locations to the "Comment" section below

Brave Generation

2011-04-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

The New England Alliance is a relational network, a collection of friends and their friends who all want to see God's Spirit poured out on New England.

We're excited to partner with some of our friends from Holyfire Ministries in presenting the Brave Generation Conference: “We Are One”. We will focus on unity in the church to see our cities transformed by the gospel. Our desire is to spark a vision to see the church change culture- not competing with one another, but completing each other in unity.

We feel like God is allowing us to be a part of something divine, something His hand is guiding. We’ve become convinced that New England is steamrolling towards spiritual renewal and somehow God has allowed these conferences to play a small part in His great plan. This event is an opportunity to seek God with hundreds of leaders and young people from across the region. For those of you who attended the Solemn Assembly last fall, the venue will be familiar!

April 15-16th 2011
Plymouth Memorial Hall
Plymouth, MA

This year's workshop speakers include:

-DAVID W. HILL (Team Leader from Fenway Church in Boston, MA)
-JOE PASKEWICH (Lead Pastor at Calvary Chapel in Uncasville, CT)
-ZENZO MATOGA (Missionary and Visionary Leader, Boston Night of Worship)

The second breakout session will be an interactive discussion with influential leaders from across New England.

Lets continue together to seek God for awakening in New England.

For more information contact Holyfire at:

(203) 887.3141 or www.brave-generation.com

The Story of the Maine Elders Coalition

2011-03-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

“We’re sick and tired of being alone”—John Eckhardt

John and Linda Eckhardt moved to Maine in 1985 with their 1 year-old son Joshua. They came to plant “Stauron Ministries”, focusing on establishing a mission base on the YWAM model, a center for discipleship that would train, equip, and release people into their calling.

It was a pioneering work established in Brunswick, but initially birthed in 1982 in Topsham, a small town north of Portland that wasn’t even on the Rand-McNally Road Atlas John was using when he first came to Maine in 1982 to ‘spy out the land’. While the work went forward, isolation and loneliness were a constant reality. Area congregations were not well connected. Also, the geography of Maine, a big state with a small population, tended to re-enforce isolation.

Early Efforts at Unity

In 1989, John and a group of pastors from the Mid-coast region started a pastor’s association, the “Mid-coast Evangelical Ministers Fellowship”, a traditional pastor’s fellowship representing 50-65 ministries.

That same year, a group of 20 prophetic ministers from the mid-west came to Maine and did a sweep of the state, ministering in numerous churches, teaching on prophecy and prophesying over churches, even in many places that were not oriented towards prophetic ministry. Leaders identified each other as a result, but during the following years of working on ‘in house’ issues, relationships struggled as the majority of ministers left the ministry or the state.

In the 1990’s, the Mid-coast Evangelical Minister’s Fellowship was involved in bringing Luis Palau to Maine for a series of meetings over the course of 3 weeks. Several evangelical pastors had gone to scout out Luis—they came back reporting that his preaching was so compelling that they had gone forward themselves at the altar call!

This evangelistic effort brought the Church together like nothing ever had—around 500 Maine churches participated and many people responded to the gospel. Although 500 churches had worked together on the event, there was no infrastructure and no heart-level connection between leaders.

After the event it was as though nothing had ever happened.

In the last decade, Rich Brink, a pastor in Oakland, ME, gathered believers together for prayer in multiple initiatives, including a gathering in each of the 16 counties of Maine. Other ministries brought in nationally recognized preachers for conferences resulting in ‘like-minded’ leaders further identifying each other and building new friendships. Although no infrastructure was formed through these events, they were a relational hub for cross-pollination and partnership. A relational network was beginning emerge.

Moving beyond a pastor’s association

It was clear to John that traditionally envisioned pastor’s groups did not result in lasting unity or in structures that enabled ongoing kingdom work. John began to dream of a fellowship of leaders that would be more lasting, a vision that came as he drank more deeply of the Scriptures.

In 2007, John extended an invitation to people around the state who had strong, recognized leadership with the purpose of building relationships in order to connect the leadership of the state. The idea was to have a state-wide relational network of Elders who would think strategically about the purposes of God for the state of Maine. This new vision was intended to correct the problems with traditional pastor’s associations: the lack of heart-level relationships and lack of lasting infrastructure that allows for ongoing, corporate ministry

A roomful of 20 or 30 ministers gathered once a month for 3 months: at the end of 3 months the gathering had become just another pastor’s gathering. The core team promptly shut it down.

In 2008, they made another attempt, inviting ministry leaders around the region. Once again, after 3 months the gathering had become just another “pastor’s luncheon”. Once again, John and the team shut it down.

PACE

In 2009, John and several others decided that this time, rather than inviting “everyone”, they would be selective and only invite those who matched Scriptural eldership criteria. They came up with 6 guidelines:

1) Their wives were happy in the ministry

2) They were able to manage their children/children not in open rebellion (Titus 1:6)

3) They had a general good reputation in their city (no affairs, $ scandals, etc) (Titus 1:7)

4) They could demonstrate they were under authority and accountable to someone else

5) They possessed ‘macro’ vision beyond their local congregation

6) They played well with others

This process alienated some people in the state—people were offended and some said “who are you to do this?”

However, on the 3^rd try, the hearts of those who were invited were knit together. While John was recognized as the initiator and vision holder, he worked hard to avoid being perceived as the “founder”. God works through a plural eldership. The vision was not to create a “network” or a “hierarchy” with someone at the top of a pyramid, it was to form a coalition that could act as one because their hearts were truly one. They called the group PACE, “Prophetic and Apostolic Coalition of Elders”.

In the initial meetings, macro vision for the state began to erupt as the group discussed “how can we serve the purposes of God for Maine?” The possibility for united action in strengthening young leaders, on social justice issues in the state, or in encouraging a positive business climate was thrilling. John says, “We began to see the potential of this thing to be a blessing to the entire state. In our hearts, we felt this was right—our hearts were leaping.”

In spite of leaping hearts, the group decided to slow down and not jump out too far. For the first year, the group met every two months and focused on building relationships and forming a firm foundation. Projects and vision were put on hold until the relational fabric had been thoroughly formed. The group of 14 couples (husbands and wives together) would meet on a Friday night for a time of worship and ministry to one another. Saturday was a ‘council’ format, at least 4 hours around the same table discussing whatever needed to be addressed in the state.

The focus on worshiping together and ministering to one another began to pay off over the next year and a half. John says, “I didn’t know half of these guys before we started coming together. At this point, we’ve fallen so deeply in love with each other that these folks (spouses included) are now my best friends…it’s the closest thing I’ve discovered to John 17 unity in my 32 years of knowing the Lord”.

Maine Elders Coalition: Coming above the radar

After a year and a half of building relationships with a core team of 12 leadership couples, PACE sensed the timing of the Lord to “come above the radar”. The name was changed to Maine Elder’s Coalition—not “the” Maine Elders Coalition, because this group is not making claims to some kind of exclusive leadership in the state. “We’re not trying to be ‘the’ group for the state…we’re just pulling together with those who share common vision.”

Out of the now 20 core ministry couples, 5 have been nominated to work together and serve churches in trouble around the state. The council has been called on numerous times in the past year to help with ministry marriages, assist ministries in transition, and to help forge peace between ministries that are fighting.

Another practical area of ministry for this group of senior ministers are monthly gatherings to coach, train, and mentor transitioning and emerging leaders, including those ministering in the marketplace, worship leaders, elders, and pretty much anyone who needs mentoring. The last of these gatherings in Augusta brought together 30 ministry leaders hungry for deeper relationships and a sense of connection. The Bangor emerging ministers group which began in March, had 30 in attendance. As John says, “why should the next generation of Christian leaders in the state have to grow up in a vacuum and go through the same isolation, neglect, and pioneering work that we’ve had to do?”

It’s actually Working

The Maine Elders Coalition is a unique example of how the Spirit of God is stirring believers around the region to efforts of unity that are providing strength to the Church in each state. Those involved are the first to admit their sense of wonder at the tangible sense of God’s blessing on these efforts.

John says, “We’re amazed that this is actually working. We’re just sick and tired of being alone and we know that we need to have right relationships with one another. I’ve been in ministry for 32 years, and have been trying to see something like this happen for 20 or 30 years, and now it is happening. We’ve really found a place of shalom and we’re totally giddy to see what God is doing.”

Let it be, Lord, and multiply this level of love, relationship, and partnership in the gospel throughout our region.

Final 60.12 Gathering on March 22

2011-03-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

This leg of the journey is almost at an end. I believe this sacrifice of obedience by many of you has accomplished more than we can see right now. One tangible result that I see in many people is a greater release of love for one another, and faith and hope that God will do something truly revolutionary with His church in our days.

If you've been following along from a distance or just coming as you were able, we'd encourage you to come for the last gathering. It's going to be a time of summing up what God has been doing and of transferring His grace onto what He is saying and doing next.

An "Assignment" for Tuesday

Since our first meetings, there has been a real focus on this question: "What would it mean for the church in New England to be "one as Jesus is one with the Father"? (John 17:21) I think in our time together, we've made real progress in understanding and experiencing the answer to this question.

For our last gathering, we're inviting you to bring an offering: Write up a page of what this would look like based on what we've learned over the last year. This could focus on many issues, but should be practical and specific (i.e. Unity among different language groups, process for discerning a regional vision, discerning internal barriers to loving each other, etc. The sky is the limit--we're inviting you to dream big over the New England Church and we'll distill and share this corporate wisdom.

Many of us have a sense of excitement about this last gathering. We're letting this particular formal expression (60.12) die, but we recognize that the journey will take on new form--the dreams of God's heart for His Church are seeming more and more inevitable as our faith rises to meet His word spoken over us.

March 22 at Park Street Church

Park Street is really a symbol, in many ways, of Biblical Christianity in New England and even in the nation. It seems fitting for us to end our journey here.

Parking is a bit difficult: please plan your parking location ahead of time: You can find all you need here: http://www.parkstreet.org/directions_parking

Finally, Please RSVP so that we can be prepared to feed you. Especially in this final gathering, we're not sure how many to expect. Just a quick reply "Yes" will suffice.

Final 60.12 Gathering with Pray for Boston

Tuesday, March 22

9:30am-3pm

Park Street Church

One Park Street

Boston, MA 02108

Map, Directions, and Parking: http://www.parkstreet.org/directions_parking

Blessings,

jonathan

Rhode Island: Seeking a Larger Vision

2011-02-28T08:34:00.000-08:00

The Journey of David Gadoury and the Love Rhode Island Movement

In 1994, after 19 years in pastoral ministry, David Gadoury was in a pit. A growing sense of spiritual struggle was compounded by conflicts in close relationships in the church. Then, within a period of weeks, came the unexpected deaths of his father and step-father. Finally, in a twist that is reminiscent of Job, David began having migraine headaches for the first time in his life.

In the midst of a Monday morning migraine, David was sitting in his church office looking at his invitation to the 3^rd annual New England Pastor’s prayer summit. He decided to go.

In spite of his discomfort with the unfamiliar and the diversity and exuberance of some of the worship, he remained focused on seeking God and was personally and dramatically renewed. On returning, other people were quick to pick up on the change and began asking him, “what happened to you—you’re different?” The summit experience flooded into his personal times with God; hope had been rekindled.

Over the next several years, the New England Pastor’s Summits became a regular discipline.

Theological Transformation

In the years previous to the Summit, David had read the book One Lord, One Faith—A Theology of Cross-Denominational Renewal with a group of other pastors and church elders. The central thesis of this book is this: Jesus has only one church in any geographical location. What we call “churches” today are essentially overgrown house-churches. Pastors of churches in a city are really just the eldership of the church in that city. From God’s perspective, there is only one church in any given place. For that reason, those pastors who are really the “city-wide elders” should, at the very least, be meeting together for prayer.

David found himself persuaded by this vision of Church. His experience at the prayer summit was undergirded by his theological understanding of what the Church actually is—the Church is the people of God, and it should be divided by geography, not by denominations.

Over the next several years, he worked on inviting pastors from Rhode Island to the Summit, praying that together they could catch the vision of a united church advancing God’s Kingdom together in Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island Prayer Summits: 2004-Present

In 2003, David’s passion for drawing Rhode Islanders to the New England Summit took on a new dimension: what if the Summit model could be more localized and be duplicated specifically for Rhode Island pastors? He and others were gripped by this vision. At the Summit in 2003, he and fellow RI pastor John Gibson shared with the entire group their burden to have a group focused on the RI area. With the blessing of those at the Summit, John and David began writing letters: the RI Pastor’s Prayer Summit was born in 2004 with 32 pastors attending.

A servant leadership team was formed to plan the Summit as well as 2 or 3 follow up events during the rest of the year. Many people would come to the follow-up prayer breakfasts that had not come to the Summit. Since 2004, 65 different pastors have attended at least one of the gatherings including a strong committed core.

Changing Summit Dynamics

At first, the focus of the RI Summits was on getting to know one another and soaking in God’s presence. Early Summits were punctuated by cathartic moments of repentance and deep, personal sharing. As the Summits matured, the deep sharing has moved to smaller groups and there has been a greater focus on intercession for the state of Rhode Island. As pastors were renewed and became spiritually healthy, they began to ask “what is God telling us that we should be doing together to advance his kingdom?”

The Genesis of Love RI: 2010

“We’ve deliberately avoided any temptation to hatch plans…we’ve just waited on God. The Love RI focus…emerged out of the Prayer Summit organically—it just came to us.”—David Gadoury

Enter “Love Rhode Island”. Love RI is a missional partnership among RI churches. Their catch-phrase is “Prayer, Care, Share”. Love RI partners are committed to “praying for people in need of Jesus, Caring for people and communities in practical ways with love and justice, and Sharing the good news of Jesus lovingly and compellingly.” So far this partnership includes about 30 RI churches. Love RI is associated with the “Mission America Coalition”. It’s a way for the Body of Christ in Rhode Island to be united in mission.

In February of 2010, about 70 pastors were presented with the idea of forming the Love RI partnership. Pastors were given 6 weeks to decide. On the last Sunday in March, 30 churches decided they wanted to be involved. Initially, the plan was to start with prayer, then move to a pulpit exchange in June with a city outreach in the fall. However, before the initial April meeting could happen, the heavens were opened and much of the state was flooded! Samaritans Purse, a Christian aid organization, wanted to come up and serve.

Seizing the Moment

In the first Love RI meeting, an official partnership with Samaritans Purse was formed on the spot— within one week’s time 385 volunteers from 15 churches were at work mudding out houses. 15 or 20 people from different churches would show up at a work-site. The volunteers didn’t know one another, but would quickly get acquainted through partnering in the work. Often, there was an opening to pray for people in their homes.

Since then, there has been a pulpit exchange as well as a one-day festival in October, once again, with several hundred volunteers serving the community.

Outlook for the Future: “Together over time”

David and others involved in the Prayer Summits and Love Rhode Island are motivated by a hope that the Church in RI can be united in prayer and in mission. However, they are quick to acknowledge that there is a long way to go: “We recognize that this is a long and up-hill climb…we’re taking it one step at a time and feeling our way along. This is not about events, but about developing a different way of doing ministry and service together over time. It’s not an organization, it’s a movement and will not go anywhere apart from the leading of the Holy Spirit.”

From an interview with David Gadoury—By Jonathan Friz

David Gadoury is the Pastor of Cranston Christian Fellowship in Cranston, RI. He has been one of the leaders in the RI Pastor’s Prayer Summit and Love RI movements that are working to build friendship and partnership in the Church in Rhode Island.

February 60.12 Update: "Covenant Parameters"

2011-02-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

I feel that almost every time I write one of these updates, I feel like saying "our last meeting was the best we've ever had". This last gathering was no exception, and I guess that is a good problem to have. The bottom line is that the presence of God that comes through the communion of the saints is a deeply satisfying thing. When we come together and God shows Himself among us and through us, there's nothing else like it.

"Through the Roof"

Our prayer time seemed to build steadily over the course of two hours. Starting with worship, prayer began to flow into different themes as a sense of God's presence began to build. We spent a good deal of time praying specifically on the issue of abortion as well as other justice matters in the New England states. We continued in a time of "Korean style" prayer (everyone praying at once), declaring the promises of God over the entire New England region and moving our focus to praying for the people of God--as we did this, the sense of God's presence really went through the roof! Our guests from California requested prayer and seemed to be super blessed as God spoke and ministered to them through the gathered believers.

Fellowship

Some of the most valuable happenings at these gatherings occur during the "down" time of lunch. I love seeing the Lord knit lives together over a meal! The result is that relationships of trust and love are formed, we learn from one another and stretch one another. Often strategic connections and introductions are made that will enhance our effectiveness in ministry for years down the road.

Covenant "Parameters"

During our prayer time, Jason Arroyo (CT) shared a word that the Lord had spoken to him on his drive. The central message he articulated through prayer was this: "God is saying there are covenant parameters that we need to come into agreement with in the upcoming revival in New England". As I heard Jason share from God's heart on "Covenant Parameters", I felt very strongly that these "parameters" related very closely to the message that Gaylord Enns was bringing. For those of you who were not there, I want to summarize a bit of the teaching for you.

Gaylord's message to us on Tuesday was about "rightly dividing the word of truth", specifically about clearly distinguishing between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

Many of us have, without realizing it, have been living with one foot in the Old and one foot in the New. A clear example of this is in how we think about the "Great Commandments" to "Love the Lord your God..." and "Love your neighbor as yourself". For years, most of us have believed these statements summarized the heart of what it means to live as Christians. However, as Gaylord pointed out, these two statements are actually the greatest commandments "of the Law and the Prophets." In other words, these commandments properly belong to the Old Covenant, along with the 10 commandments and all 613 provisions of the law. So, what is the essence of the New Covenant? How can we describe what is unique and "New" about the Covenant we have in Jesus.

New Covenant/New Commandment

Gaylord shared a bit of his personal journey through a breakdown/burnout experience in 2001 after 35 years of pastoral ministry. As he was recovering from burnout, God opened his eyes in a new way to see Jesus' New Commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you." When he saw the significance of Jesus' Commandment for the first time, he assumed that he was the only one who had missed this command, but that all his friends and certainly Church theologians throughout the centuries had seen it. Part of his journey has been researching church history searching for Jesus' Commandment and the sad discovery that since the first century, by and large we as the Church have missed Jesus' commandment. As he said, "when I discovered that fact, all of a sudden, Church history began to make sense for the first time."

Although Jesus' Command not been well understood, The New Covenant and the New Commandment are inextricably linked. Jesus initiated both of them on the night he was betrayed. Both of them were called "New". In fact, Jesus' Command is so central to the New Covenant that it is actually our mark of authenticity as followers of Jesus: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)

Summing Up the New Covenant

Is it possible to summarize the "New Covenant" as Jesus summarized the "Old Covenant", with two major commands? Amazingly, 1 John 3:23 does exactly that: "And this is His [Father God's]commandment: that we believe in the name of His son Jesus and love one another, just as He [Jesus] commanded us." At the center of the New Covenant we find these two commandments:

1) Faith in Jesus Christ--this is the Father's Commandment (John 3:16)

2) Love for one another as Jesus Loved us--This is Jesus' Commandment (John 13:34)

I find it fascinating that Jesus Christ Himself is actually right at the middle of each of these commandments.

It's interesting that "faith in Jesus Christ" was actually the issue at the heart of the Reformation that began just over 490 years ago. Faith in Jesus Christ is absolutely at the center of the gospel, but somehow for years a fog remained over this clear fact of Scripture. In a similar way, Gaylord shared his sense that God is removing the fog off of Jesus' New Command in our days--the Holy Spirit is helping us to rediscover and reclaim this central aspect of our faith. I think it's important to note also that in the New Covenant we fulfill the Old--we don't get rid of it. That's why we still have two "Testaments" in our Bibles. I want to emphasize that as we live out of the New we will be fulfilling the commands of the Old as never before.

Meditate on this teaching

Finally, I want to state in the clearest possible language my conviction that if authentic unity and revival is to be possible, we need to be firmly established in this foundational teaching on loving each other. I would venture to say that all of us need heart-level repentance around this issue, and it is essential for us to be grounded here if we are to walk into the promises of God as a region. You can order the book by Gaylord Enns, Love Revolution on Amazon--get it and read it. Please see the heart-felt note from Brandt Gillespie (below)

60.12 Comes to an End

Our final 60.12 gathering will be on Tuesday, March 22 in Boston at Park Street Church. We hope you can join us for this final gathering. Mark your calendar now and more information will follow in the upcoming days.

Yours in Christ,

Jonathan Friz

A Message from Brandt Gillespie

2011-02-28T08:15:00.000-08:00

Without exaggeration, I have recorded thousands of messages across the length and breadth of the US over the past eleven years. I have been in, around and involved with ministry for over forty years. I now consider the messages delivered by Gaylord Enns at the recent Perfect Love - Conference in New England to be the single most important word to us as the body of Christ that I have ever had the privilege of hearing.

Gaylord's comprehensive explanation of how from the time of the early church fathers we lost sight of the single command Jesus gave is a critical understanding to grapple with as to why the Church has falling so far below our original calling to demonstrate the Father's love in the earth.

Without apology, I implore you to order a copy of these DVDs or CDs. Immerse yourself in the teaching. Share them with your friends. And practice what you are hearing in this word. This could very well be the rebirth of the "Revolution" that Christ has been longing to see accomplished through His Body.

If you find yourself without resource to pay for these DVDs or CDs, please contact me directly at PrayTV@aol.com and let me know your situation. I will do my best to get these recordings to you. We must use all means to get these messages into the hands of everyone we can. This word is that important!

Please request them today at PrayTV.org.

Brandt Gillespie, President PrayTV.

"Perfect Love" This Weekend

2011-02-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how one revelation from the word of God, in the right setting, can lead to drastic change. A little more than 490 years ago, Martin Luther stumbled onto something that had been hiding in plain sight--We are saved by grace through faith, and not by our works. This insight was the turning point in Luther's spiritual life and led to an entire period of reformation in the church.

I believe we are in a period of history similar to that of the reformation where we are beginning to see rapid change in the church and surrounding culture. There are two revelations right now at work in the church--once again, basic scriptural facts that have been hidden in plain sight--that I believe have the potential to bring about a similar season of transformation and transition.

Kingdom Power "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We are beginning to realize that God desires the normal reality of heaven to be the normal reality of earth. The Kingdom of heaven is near, in fact, it is within us. Our assignment is to release the power and glory of God that is in us through the Holy Spirit, bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth as Jesus did in his earthly ministry. Miracles begin to be common as we realize that God desires to have things his way on earth, just as he does in heaven. Indeed, already at a world-wide level, we are seeing unprecedented levels of miraculous and supernatural activity.

Christ-like Love: "Love one another as I have loved you". At face value, the call to love seems almost unremarkable and obvious. However, hidden within this is a mind-blowing revelation of the depths of God's love for us. When we are able to receive His love, we are then free to release love to others "as we have been loved.

This next "reformation" is not going to be about further dividing up the church--these things may have been necessary for a season, although many were avoidable. It is going to be about learning to receive and give the love of Jesus to one another within God's family "that the world may see that you sent me, and have loved them just as you loved me." (John 17:23)

Perfect Love

When Kingdom Power and Christ-like love come together in the Church, it is going to be dynamic. This weekend, we'll be focusing on the "Love" side of things, taking our time and laying firm foundations so that we can begin to live in Christ-like love for one another. Hope to see you there!

Location: 9 Dane St., Beverly MA (Parking in the church lot and on the streets)

Times: Friday, 7-9pm Saturday Sessions from 9:30-1pm, 2pm-5pm, and 7-9pm

Video: We will be streaming live at www.praytv.org

January 60.12 in RI: Foundations

2011-01-26T19:28:00.001-08:00

There was an expectation coming in that God was going to be speaking to us during this time, and we were not disappointed. The gathering was sweet and many people felt it was our best yet because of the presence and voice of the Lord we experienced.

As you no doubt remember, it snowed and sleeted significantly last Tuesday, making travel treacherous and time consuming and keeping many people from joining us. For us, a 1.5 hour drive in good weather turned into almost a 4 hour drive. We pulled up at around 10:45 as the rest of the group was just getting started. We ended up having just under 20 people from 4 states after 3 folks from NH arrived at noon following a 5 hour drive! Many remarked afterwards about the special way that God met with us and spoke to us during the day.

Praying for RI: In spite of the delays, there was a deep sense of peace and also a sense that God had something very special for us that day. In the morning, we focused our prayers on Rhode Island. Steve DuPlessie had come representing the movement of RI pastors that has been hosting prayer summits the last several years. He shared about the sense of comraderie and mutual support that has come about through the prayer summits, and also about the "Love RI" statewide initiative to bring the church together in prayer, in caring for the community, and in sharing the gospel. It was encouraging to hear how about the birthing of Love RI last spring. Just before their first planning meeting, RI was inundated with floods. Seizing the opportunity, the Love RI team partnered with Samaritan's Purse and pulled together a team of 400 volunteers from churches around the state to shovel out basements and help the hardest-hit communities. All in all, there was a lot of good news.

However, Cheryl Russell, coordinator for the National Day of Prayer in RI had not heard about any of this. She was blessed to hear what was happening, but also shared her observations that many ministry leaders felt disconnected and discouraged and even had a sense of "it's us against them" in relation to the churches. At that point, I think all of us felt we were in the middle of a divine appointment between Cheryl and Steve, one representing intercessors and para-church networks and the other representing the statewide pastor's group. We had them join hands in the center as we prayed over them. It was great to see the two of them blessed through this encounter and let's pray for lasting fruit to come from this.

As a group we prayed that RI would experience awakening along with the rest of New Englan and also for strong relationships between RI leaders and leaders from around New England. And finally (put this into the "interesting coincidence" box) I thought it was cool that the day after we came down to pray, there was a major sting operation on the RI mob--(Thanks God!). As someone once said, significant coincidences just happen more often when we walk closely with Jesus, and especially when we pray!

Wrestling Prayer: Foundations

We had a sense coming into this meeting that it would be a significant time of hearing from the Lord regarding "next steps towards the unity of the Church in New England". I'll do my best to capture some of what we heard the Lord saying during this time, forgive me if my account is too personal.

It is Possible! Ron Stimers (VNE) did a great job leading us into a time of conversation with the Lord regarding "what are practical next steps for us to take for the unity of the Body of Christ in New England?" As we began to pray, I saw in my mind's eye a skyscraper that was under construction. I sensed the impossibility of building a sky-scraper--and yet, there are thousands of them that have been built. The Lord was encouraging me through this with a new sense of possibility--John 17 unity is possible in New England! I saw large, pre-formed pieces being put in their places and welded in. Once these pieces were in place in the greater structure, their ability for impact was greatly multiplied. Once incorporated in the superstructure through just a few points of connection, the entire pre-formed piece made sense and was able to share in the bearing of loads. I think this image spoke of entire groups and movements being joined into a larger structure superstructure. On the ground, the pieces had just been "in the way", lying useless in the yard--once connected to the whole, the reason for each part became evident.

Old Foundations As I was seeing this, Roberto Miranda began sharing about the importance of the foundation in construction. The foundation is underground, out-of-sight, and not directly used by people. However, the foundation is the most painstakingly important part of the building--if it is done wrong, it undermines the entire building. In their construction project at Congregation Leon de Juda, they discovered multiple old foundations in the ground where they had begun to build the new sanctuary. The already difficult task of laying a good foundation was delayed by 6 months as these old foundations were removed at great cost to the church.

"Begin to build" As Roberto shared this, I sensed the Lord say to me, "Begin to build on the foundation". I honestly had no idea what this meant, but felt it was connected to the Skyscraper/church that God had shown me earlier. A little later, Victor Khokhlan read from Ephesians 2:20 about the building God is constructing which is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone." As Victor read this, I had an "aha" moment--the things God and others were saying finally made sense to me.

God is building in the Spirit. The building is composed of redeemed people who are joined together by relationships of love in the Spirit. Not every part touches every other directly--but every part connects indirectly. However, every part is built upon the foundation--a foundation made up of people. At the bottom of this building is a foundation made of people who have received a gift from God to be "apostles and prophets", with Jesus Christ "the apostle of our faith" as the chief cornerstone. Obviously, this applies to the historic foundations of the church. However, it also applies to us today. If we want to build towards John 17 unity, we need these gifts at the foundation.

"The ''A" Word: Charismatic and liturgical streams speak openly of apostolic gifts. Evangelicals have traditionally not spoken of apostles, but then again, we have John Wesley, D.L. Moody, and Billy Graham. When you compare these men to the "5 fold" ministry in Ephesians 4, it's hard to classify them as anything but apostles. Has anyone else ever noticed that when Billy Graham came to town, the Church would unite? Was that just because of a common set of activities and the simplicity of his message, or could it also have been because he had a foundational gift, a gift you could build unity on?

There is still a lot of confusion among us regarding these gifts. Some people get nervous when people talk about modern day "apostles and prophets". I think the chief reason for this is that we rightly want to avoid controlling leadership. After all, the Reformation was a reaction to controlling apostolic leadership in the form of the Pope. However, it is possible to react out of fear of control and end up in a situation where "everyone does what is right in their own eyes." Controlling leadership is bad, but so is lack of leadership. What we need is mature servant leadership at every level in the church and especially at the foundations. Whatever language we use, the bottom line is this: If we want to build towards Unity (Eph 4:13, Eph 2:22), it is going to involve these functions at the foundation.

Laying Down Lives When you hear the word "apostle" spoken, people often speak of a them as providing a "covering". However, a foundation is at the bottom, bearing the greatest load. It is out of sight, buried underground. Apostles and prophets have authority, but are defined as those whose humble lives, built upon Jesus Christ, support the entire church. This skyscraper that God wants to build can only be built on top of lives laid down on behalf of others. These lives at the bottom must have complete integrity. As the psalm says, "righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne." The church is God's throne, God's place of rest and power. These foundations must be full of righteousness and justice just like Jesus Christ.

Originating in God's Call: Finally, these gifts are only given by God. They're recognized, not bestowed. It's silly for a hand to want to be a foot; it's silly to force a foot to be a hand. God has "given gifts to men (Eph 4)". Our job is to discern what these are and to help build up each part until we're all positioned perfectly, until we're all relating to one another in love, each part performing it's function.

I know that God spoke many things to people personally which we discussed on the way home. However, this was the biggest takeaway for me from our time of asking God "what are the next steps towards Unity in New England." Real Unity is possible. It's all about relationships in the Holy Spirit. There's multiplication of power in unity--the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Finally, we need to get the foundations right and remove the false foundations. As I have been wrestling with this over the last week and talking it over with others, I've been collecting more questions. Please take a look at them below.

Blessings,

Jonathan Friz

Further Questions:

What are the old foundations that have been removed and still need to be removed in new england to prepare the way for God's Sanctuary?

How can we distinguish these things that need to go from the inheritance from our past that we need to keep?

What does it mean practically for the New England Church to "build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (with Jesus Christ always as the cornerstone)? Is this already happening in certain places? What would it look like at a regional level?

What theological or practical problems do you have with the words "apostle" and "prophet" applied in a modern setting? Is this problem a matter of words, or do you disagree that we need foundational leadership in the church that is sent from God with a word from Him?

Announcing Perfect Love Teaching Weekend

2011-01-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

Please See "Upcoming Events" for more information

Event Notice: "Israel Mandate: The Church standing in the gap for Israel"

2011-01-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

Victor Khokhlan writes:

We want to invite you to A Special Event of worship, prayer, and teaching:

Saturday, January 29th at 11:00am.

"Israel Mandate:The Church standing in the gap for Israel"

Special guest speakers:

Israel Pochtar - Voice of Judah Ministry, Israel ( A Messianic Jewish ministy in Israel)

Yacov Ifraimov - The mayor of the City of Ashdod, Israel

David Bates - State Representative from New Hampshire.

Please join us in learning what the Lord is doing in Israel as we express God's love and support in standing with the Jewish people. Let's pray and believe together for God's promises of His Love and faithfulness to be revealed to Israel.

Rom. 11:15 " ... For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead! "

We look forward to seeing you!

Pastor Victor Khokhlan

Address:

King of the Nations House of Prayer

9 Cummings street

Somerville, MA O2145

781-363-6741

Summary of December 60.12 Meeting in Boston

2011-01-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Full of Praise and Thanksgiving

As we entered into the sanctuary hearts were quickly united through anointed worship, heartfelt thanksgiving, and the welcoming embrace of beloved friends—of comrades in the Lord, both old and new.

When my eyes fell upon Pastor Roberto Miranda who had missed the last two meetings because of illness, they welled with tears in extreme gratitude to God as Mary’s song was laid upon my heart, “for the Lord has done great things for him…for us…hallowed be His name.” I am sure that many of us felt the same.

After a corporate expression of prayer, Jonathan asked us to reflect upon the passing of 2010 in light of the year soon to come, and then to minister to one another in small groups of 4-5. We were asked to pray and ensure that all were filled to overflowing with the goodness of the Lord.

From the reports that I received, that is exactly what happened; for some tears of healing flowed freely, for others prophetic words of exhortation and encouragement were received joyfully as the peace of His presence descended upon us all.

One sister noted that she felt a deeper level of unity and connectedness…more so than at any of our previous meetings.

We then had a time of silent reflection to draw even nearer to the heartbeat of the Lord…allowing Him to put the finishing touches on what He had already begun, before receiving communion. Roberto Mirandaled us in communion…which seemed to be a beautiful prophetic punctuation of what many had already received from the Lord.

The Discussion: Twofold—God’s Activity and the New Wineskin of Revival

Gregg Detwiler’s report on God’s activity among ethnic and immigrant churches sparked the fire of engaged conversation as he gave voice to the contextual face of the “Quiet Revival”. Gregg spoke of:

· Earthen Vessels… the quiet revival is a Dirt & Divinity Movement, a undeniable move of God, rough edges and all

· Exponential church growth through various heretofore unheralded ethnic and immigrant streams

In response:

· I think it’s fair to say that humility ruled the day as many, if not all could relate to a dirt & divinity movement…of God working through imperfect humanity to bring about revival

· The fire of hope was stirred and fanned within the hearts of some of the pastors…revitalizing hope that God has, could, will and has used them in this most unusual season of revival

For years many of us have looked to the Great Awakenings as inspiration for what we hope to see God do in our day. However, it is clear that what God desires to do in our day will look very different from any move of God in the past. Many have been sharing their sense that God is forming a new wineskin, a new form to contain the wine of His Spirit in our day.

We then asked the question…“What does revival look like for us now relative to this new wineskin that we have been hearing about?”

Some ideas from our discussion:

· New Wineskins (forms) that are essential

o Making space for and valuing the Presence of God above anything else (learning how to worship) and recognizing that His Presence is what brings life (vitality, revival)

o Intercultural relationships and connections

o Move of God must be sustainable and steady (Used metaphor of the difference between ground water and sudden rain in the desert)

o Expecting a bottom-up grassroots effort rather than an elaborate structure

o Although there is a tension between structure and freedom, we will need structure at some point to have relational and functional unity

§ Marriage is an example of a structure (wineskin) that allows for both relational and functional unity between man and wife.

o Part of the structure is the need for the leadership of elders and the elder function

§ On the other hand, the expectation that “A” leader will rise up and lead the battle in New England is not a realistic one

· New ways of thinking and acting (mindsets) that are essential

o Living lives that are characterized by real love in action

o Creating safe places where people experience love and are able to open up at the deepest levels

o A Discipleship culture that models by example and prioritizes spiritual growth

o Developing a burden for the lost and what awaits them apart from Christ

o Thinking Generationally: We need to bring together the old and the new. It is important for the older generation to release and bless the younger generation rather than quenching them.

o Also we need to bring together elements from the Historic church without quenching the new thing God is doing

o Recognizing and making decisions for the good of the “Kingdom of God”, not just “my church” or “my denomination” (Having a Kingdom Mindset)

Hospitality

Thank you so much Boston Missionary Baptist Church for opening up your doors, your arms and your heart…for your graciousness and service. And most especially for the easy parking mid-week in BostonJ!!!

Blessing and peace,

Gabrielle Beam, New Beginnings Christian Church, Darien CT with notes from Ron Stimers, Vice President, Vision New England

A Humble Attempt: Our history of covenanting together for prayer in New Hampshire

2011-01-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

In recent months we are more and more aware that God is on the move in New England. In New Hampshire, 5^th Friday has become a fixed tradition of county prayer gatherings in each of our 10 counties! The third annual Solemn Assembly grew to 1700 participants in Plymouth—not to mention the national platform that resulted from its connection to the filming of “Monumental”, a documentary focusing on “the faith of our forefathers” as the foundation of America’s greatness. The fourth annual Boston Night of Worship also grew to a 5500 person multi-ethnic worship event. Recently Vision New England gathered over 30 NE leaders to reflect and recognize that prayer networks, pastors’ fellowships, and breakthrough evangelism is happening all over NE.

The NH Prayer Covenant of 2005: All of these things have reminded us that the Lord is faithful to His promise of revival as set forth in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways—then will I hear their prayer and heal their land.” Years ago, this promise and others from the Word of God inspired Jonathan Edwards to write “A Humble Attempt” to covenant with clergy around New England to meet quarterly for visible, united, and joyful prayer. This “Humble Attempt” is the same covenant vision that over 70 NH pastors, leaders, and intercessors signed in the spring of 2005. Yes, it is becoming clear that the Lord is on the move again in New England and isn’t it clear that we must all be very attentive to the Lord’s guidance?

History of the prayer and unity efforts in New Hampshire: The prayer covenant of 2005 did not come out of nowhere, but was preceded by 15 years of various efforts to foster prayer and build relationships. A “Power Team Evangelistic Crusade” in 1990 brought together 100 churches and is credited by many as the beginning of these efforts at unity. Relationships were beginning to form leading to the “Marches for Jesus” (1992-97), “NH for Jesus” (a monthly state-wide pastor’s meeting, 1997), and “Gather My People 2000” (1997-2002) which involved state-wide pastor prayer fellowships and monthly prayer gatherings held around NH. During this time the Lord was teaching us to build and value relationships. Our prayer and worship together allowed the Lord to take his rightful place among us as the head of the church. You can’t pour old wine into new wine skins—so we all had to come together as brothers and sisters so the Lord could do a new thing. We weren’t trying to “organize” denominations to be reconciled—that is impossible! But when we did form a fellowship of prayer; then we began to see the Lord guide us.

2 Chronicles 20: In the spring of 2003, we hosted “Days of Prayer” for New Hampshire leaders to get away together and listen to the Lord. This gathering was one of the first and most significant occasions of God’s extraordinary guidance to us corporately. After a time of prolonged “waiting on the Lord,” a group of eight leaders returned and found that two pastors had received 2 Chronicles 20 at the same time. 2 Chronicles 20 is the impossible story of Jehoshaphat and Judah overcoming 3 armies not by fighting, but by placing worship leaders at the head of the army. We recognized that when we are outmatched by our enemies, our only hope is to worship the Lord and place our trust in Him, not in our human abilities. At that time, NH had just become the first place in history to name a gay bishop. Similar trends around NE were a wake-up call that caused us to see that we were in the battle of our lives.

Worship and Warfare: God’s word regarding 2 Chronicles 20 grew in our hearts and by the time we renewed the prayer covenant in 2005 we felt guided by the Lord to host worship gatherings all over NH starting in the fall of 2005. That summer we were visited by Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce, two national prayer leaders. During our second session Dutch abandoned his notes and said the Lord was leading him “off the page.” For the next 15 minutes he talked about Jehoshaphat and how we ought to hold worship gatherings all over NH. He knew nothing of our previous guidance and so we were awestruck at recognizing we were in the middle of God’s unfolding plans. Since then we have found this same passage has been given independently and repeatedly to other leaders around New England.

5^th Fridays Following our year of “Jehoshaphat” worship based on 2 Chronicles 20 we formally adopted Jonathan Edward’s quarterly prayer and worship gatherings which we began to hold in each county. For practical purposes we chose to hold this on “Fifth Fridays” and this regular pattern has become a fixed star in our NH efforts. Our prayer covenant includes quarterly state-wide days of prayer, local pastors’ fellowships, and annual retreats or renewal events for pastors and leaders. Since then we have seen the Lord continuing to increase unity among pastors’ fellowships. This continues to make a significant impact on raising the spiritual temperature of our state.

The New England Alliance During these last five years, we also have seen that the Lord was working in other locations around NE. Some of the efforts to support prayer and unity in the Body had been going on for 30 or even 50 years and were beginning to mature and yield breakthroughs. As more and more leaders were experiencing a call to pray together and walk together in unity, the NE Alliance was formed in 2007. Around this time we also became aware that the Awakening America Alliance and other national prayer movements had the same vision that we did for prayer, unity, and awakening. This group had planned a county-based prayer day of prayer on Sept. 11, 2008, and they expected New England to have the least participation in their national prayer effort. Amazingly, NE had the highest percentage of participating counties of any part of the country.

At this present moment we see that the NE Alliance is becoming a vehicle to spread the vision of revival across NE. In 2011, the NH Alliance plans to gather all the counties for a NH Night of Worship similar in vision to the Boston Night of Worship. We also hope that the Lord’s guidance to us may inspire others, and we pray in a special way that the Fifth Friday prayer and worship will be a key part of our vision to unite all of NE in more localized breakthrough. The Lord can do all things—even in New England. Let’s remain focused on worshiping Him to see his deliverance and revival realized again in our times. Amen.

Dick Kiernan is the Field Ministries Director of Alpha NE, and a founding member of the NH Alliance and NE Alliance. Dick is married to Stephanie and has 5 children.

Are we in Revival?

2010-11-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Entering into Revival

Dear Friends,

Tuesday, at a one day prayer Summit for Boston Pastors, Bishop Gideon Thompson made a statement to this effect, “For years, many of us have been praying for revival in New England. Now, we’re in a season where we are experiencing a measure of the revival we have been longing for over decades. We are in revival right now.” Sometimes, we have a perspective on revival that is totally “other than” our normal experience. While I long for an ever-increasing movement of God’s Spirit, I think it can be very valuable to recognize that we are experiencing a measure of awakening now.

Some indicators that we are in the beginning stages of an awakening:

Levels of encouragement and expectation among Christian leaders are high as many are sensing “the next 10 years will be the best of our lives”.
Many believers and groups of leaders are experiencing unprecedented levels of unity and love for one another
The response of believers to Church-wide gatherings such as the NE Solemn Assembly and Boston Night of Worship

Of course, we have a long way to go. However, let’s give thanks to God for how far he’s brought us so far. We are making progress! Also, remember that “awakening” is not something that happens “out there”, it’s something that happens inside your heart, when your heart comes alive to the reality of what God is really like. Just as Jesus had the disciples pray for laborers and then sent them out as the laborers, we are the revival we have been praying for. When God’s life is flowing in you, you’re in revival!'

Next Gathering:

I hope to see you in Boston on Thursday, December 16 at Boston Missionary Baptist Church (366 Dudley St, Boston MA) for our 9^th 60.12 gathering.

Report on November 60.12 Gathering

On November 9, 60.12 converged with a bi-annual gathering of Connecticut pastors. Around 100 leaders from Connecticut and around New England spent the morning together before the Lord. Rick McKinniss, senior leader of Wellspring, facilitated the morning, skillfully steering us through many different expressions of prayer. We worshipped the Lord, sat before him in total silence, and ministered to one another in many different ways.

At one point, leaders who were struggling with discouragement were asked to stand up. Amazingly, only a few people stood up, maybe 10 or 20 people out of 100 present. I’ve been in gatherings like that where almost everyone was just struggling to stay in the fight. So to have around 80% of the leaders in the room saying “I am encouraged” is an amazing indicator of what God is doing in our region. It’s not that there are no problems or struggles. However, when we stand together, full of faith in the midst of adversity, it is a sign that we are winning! (Phil. 1:27-28)

During our conversation time, Keith Tolley of Vision New England asked a question about what God is doing in New England. Dick Kiernan took extensive notes on the conversation, which are recorded below:

What is hindering God’s movement in NE—preventing us from getting traction—losing momentum?

Don’t Pour New Wine Into Old Wineskins!

Introduction: At the NE Alliance monthly day of prayer at Wellspring in Kensington, CT, about 20-25 NE leaders discussed what the church needs to do to move forward with God’s vision in NE. We specifically discussed what is hindering God’s movement and what we need to do about it. Here are a number of responses we heard:

· Some pastors and leaders simply lack the commitment necessary to work together. Sometimes we simply need more time—like when you are seeding a lawn—you need to work at it for different seasons and it can be years before a mature lawn is formed, so if everyone perseveres in doing their part there can be break through.

· Some are not finding what they hoped for in the existing efforts, and since they have different expectations, they stop coming.

· A new structure is necessary so that you don’t try to pour new wine into old wineskins. A new vision must have a proper foundation on Christ. Sometimes the problem is that “King Saul” does not want to yield to “King David.” Sometimes the problem is that some want to control things or continue in a former leadership foundation. There needs to be a brotherhood built up and everyone has to put aside their leadership role or denominational hierarchy and come together with leaders from other denominations. Our denominations have often deviated from the foundations/essential teachings of Christ such as the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7).

· There is a suspicion among leaders and churches. Relationships and leadership are key. Sometimes NE intellectualism or denominational beliefs or ethnic differences divides the church.

· Overcoming barriers: Jeff Marks witnessed about how Gordon MacDonald and so many leaders of his generation held meetings at Sturbridge and then agreed to go out 2 by 2 each month all over NE—this unity continues to grow to this day. Many times these leaders gathered community pastors together who had never met or didn’t have a relationship.

· We need to change our understanding of church and the way it is structured based on John 13--
“Love one another as I have loved you—all will know you are my disciples if you love one another.”

Invitation to April 60.12, Boston MA

2010-11-13T10:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

I have to admit, when I prayed for God to bring someone from northern Maine to the 60.12 meetings, I wasn’t fully expecting a response. However, God has a way of surprising us by answering prayers we've forgotten. I wasn't counting on Nancy Nichols' determination to drive 9 hrs to Boston from Presque Isle, ME in order to connect with the Body of Christ in New England.

So from Presque Isle (not actually an island, I discovered), the crown of Maine in the extreme Northeast to Darien, Connecticut in the extreme Southwest; from Cape Cod to Burlington, VT and everywhere in between we are expecting leaders to gather to Boston for the first 60.12 gathering on April 27 at Congregation Leon de Juda from 9:30am-3pm. Our first 60.12 gathering is going to intersect with “Pray for Boston”, a city-wide pastor’s prayer gathering in the city.

Come one, Come All—but please RSVP

In the last weeks, there’s been a shift in how people are approaching 60.12. More and more, people are asking if they can come to the first meeting April 27^th but are waiting to make a commitment. Others are unable to commit to 10/12 gatherings, but want to be involved in some way.

A year commitment to this is substantial; so please plan to come on April 27 as part of your discernment process. From there, feel free to 1) Register as one of the “60” for 10/12 meetings or 2) Come as you are able throughout the year.

Please RSVP with Madeleine Prendergast so that we can accommodate everyone for lunch! (Note: if you are on the participant list attached, you are already registered for April 27)

Madeleine can be reached at

Summary of June 60.12 meeting

2010-11-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Our third 60.12 gathering in Springfield, MA was definitely my favorite. Personally, I arrived feeling a bit dull and discouraged. As we began to worship, the presence of God began to wash over me—it was as though I remembered who I was. Hope and a Biblical view of reality returned. After a very intimate time of worship, God seemed to ignite explosive intercession. We began to intercede for the gulf oil spill. As we did, I sensed God awakening my heart to pray for this with His eyes. I found myself sitting, crying, and crying out for Mercy. We asked for a renewal of the spiritual heritage of the Connecticut River Valley.

Soon, our intercession for “out there” would become much more “in here”. All of us prayed for one another in groups that the Lord would free each of us from the fear of man—we then prayed blessings, encouragement, and strength over each leader present. I left our prayer time a different man than when I came in. This kind of experience is typical of pastor’s gatherings like this one—it’s a big part of the reason we do this, so that we ourselves can be awakened afresh.

Summary of May 2010 60.12 meeting

2010-11-13T09:05:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends,

On Thursday, May 20, about 50 church leaders from around the region gathered for the second 60.12 meeting, intersecting with the Ten Days of Prayer, Rutland. Friends were delighted to see one another again.

People needed little prodding and entered right in with their own chorus of prayers. Prayer time ended with a presentation by Paul Jehle on Lemuel Haynes, a famous African-American pastor in Rutland VT. Lemuel Haynes pastored an all-white congregation and was known for his strong stand for the Gospel, his patriotism during the Revolutionary War and his defense of the equality of all people before God. This led into a memorable time of prayer for the Vermont leaders.

At this point, we realized it was already 1pm. The flexible kitchen staff held our meal for an extra hour. We wrapped up our corporate time with a conversation about the role of structures in bringing unity to the Body of Christ. Key insights were:

Relationships precede structures.
The work of unity has already been accomplished in Christ.
Unity can only be found in Christ. A strong stand for the truth in primary issues is essential for real unity to be possible.

David Rosen shared about the role of forgiveness and covenant-making in the reconciliation and sealing of native peoples in Canada.

We concluded with a fantastic meal accompanied by lively conversations and new-found friendships.

Invitation to April 2010 60.12 meeting

2010-11-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Come one, Come All—but please RSVP

Please RSVP with Madeleine so that we can accommodate everyone for lunch! (Note: if you are on the participant list attached, you are already registered for April 27)