"Have Fun Storming the Castle..." - A Church Planting Prayer

For the last year and a half, I've been involved with a church plant, mostly as a musician. A dear friend is the lead pastor and God has called him to plant the church in a community that has a declining population and high unemployment. The choice of location goes against conventional church planting strategy, but it certainly seems, at least to me, to be consistent with where the Gospel is needed the most.  Over and over, God has confirmed his decision to plant here.

The church officially launched last October. In the month leading up to the launch, the leadership team initiated a "30 days of prayer" in which volunteers from the launch team were asked to take turns writing a brief devotion and prayer that would be shared via email with the rest of the launch team. Thirty days with thirty unique perspectives. It was a very meaningful activity.

When it was my turn, I remember sleepily writing something at around 3:00 in the morning. I had no clue how God would use these words to encourage others. My pastor shared it with other church planters and read the devotional portion as part of his sermon at the commissioning service. Also, the Sr. Pastor of our mother church read the prayer portion as the Elders laid hands on us during the commissioning prayer. The attention this received was totally unexpected, but given the difficult year I've had, it was a very healing thing for me personally.

Below is the devotion and prayer that I wrote. The main premise, underlined below, is a direct quote from Erwin McManus in his sermon, "Heroes and Villains - the boy with the loaves and fishes" (8/1/2010). Otherwise, the rest are my own words.  Note: the reference made about an old drummer, is a reference about myself.


September 27, 2010 ~
There is a scene in the beloved movie, The Princess Bride, where the protagonists Westley, Inigo Montoya and Fezzik are planning their strategy on how to storm the castle and rescue Princess Buttercup before she is tricked into marrying the evil Prince Humperdinck. Westley, who's been "mostly dead all day" surveys the situation and asks, "What are our liabilities?" Inigo replies,

"There is but one working castle gate, and... and it is guarded by 60 men."

"And our assets?"

"Your brains. Fezzik's strength. My steel."

With little time for planning a strategy, Westley wishes they had two random items - a wheelbarrow and a holocaust cloak. Indigo and Fezzik just happen to have both items on hand, to which Westley replies with some indignation,

"Well, why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place?"

This illustration is not unlike the Christian life - God puts us into seemingly impossible situations where He under-resources us, so that we can experience His grace and provision.

As He often does with us, Jesus uses an impossible situation to test the disciple's reaction in John chapter 6. It's the familiar story where Jesus feeds the five thousand.

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Jesus foreknew what He was going to do. But as it says in the text, His question was intended to test Philip. Philip being a good numbers man calculates the cost, perhaps revealing the exact amount of money the disciples had amongst them. Their resources are no match for the opportunity. Besides, this was 30 A.D., just where exactly were they going to buy enough bread to feed 5000 people on short notice? Beth-Costco?

Imagine Jesus having fun with this teaching moment to his disciples and saying, "What I wouldn't give for a small basket of bread and fish right now..." And after Andrew brings forward the young boy, Jesus responds, "Well, why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place?"

Fast-forward to today. These are tough times. The economy is no respecter of people, social class, or business. Across denominations, church planting has come to a virtually stand-still because of depleted financial resources and uncertainty. Experts say this not the time to be planting a church, especially within a economically stressed community. Our meager resources are no match for the enormity of opportunity, but Jesus always knows the way out of an impossible situation. In reading the Gospels, it is clear that Jesus does more with the one who has least.

As a church plant, our resources are modest. Much of our equipment is used and donated. For example, the electronic drum kit we use on Sunday mornings was purchased by Grace Chapel back in 1998. In recent years, it sat in storage and was almost tossed in the dumpster. It's a relic. It's missing some hardware and has been known to collapse to the floor, but it somehow gets the job done. Similar observations have been made about the drummer, but that's getting off the subject... ;-)

So the question is, Where shall we buy bread for all these people? Like Philip, we are tempted to answer the "how" and not the "where" of the question. Like Westley, we calculate our assets and liabilities, when in fact what we want is staring right back in our face. You, Lord, are the answer and able to provide.

How do we as God's children respond to the enormous task of planting a church during difficult economic times, amidst declining population and high unemployment? Like the little boy with the humble basket lunch, the key to stepping into God-given opportunities is proximity - of just being present in the moment and allowing God to work.

I'm sure that little boy didn't awake that morning planning to give his lunch away. But he was close to Jesus and available at the right time and right place. It's not surprising that God works the most with those who are seeking holiness and give of themselves the most.

Is there a closeness in our personal walk with Jesus that allows us to hear from God and be available in the moment? Just seeing the opportunity is the portal for what God wants to do in us and through us. Impossible situations are uncomfortable, even punctuated with great fear or grief when God seems absent or cruel, but it is part of God's graciousness, for it achieves a deepening of our faith by revealing our own weakness and embracing God's all-sufficiency.

Majesty amidst the mundane. Sufficiency amidst deficiency. Possibility amidst the impossible. God puts us into seemingly impossible situations where He under-resources us, so that we can experience His grace and provision, and because His solution is the one that our soul really needs.

Prayer: Thank you Lord God, that you are the Bread of Life and the God of possibility. Thank you that You personally invite us to participate in your redemptive story to be the hands and feet where the Bread is needed. Jesus, help us as a faith community seeking to support families in the Redford area to fully understand and embrace the spectrum of families within this community. Open our eyes to see where you are already at work within this community so that we may align ourselves and our resources with your Kingdom purposes. Holy Spirit, teach us to live our lives in intimate relationship with you and to allow Your holiness to invade our lives. As we prepare for Mercy Road's launch on October 10th, may we not only be diligent in detail, but also aware of your presence and sensitive to your Spirit, to your mission, to your purpose for the world, and to therefore build your church according to your will. God, may we be present in the moment and dependent upon You to meet our every need and to experience Your grace and provision as a means to reveal Jesus as the presence Who is providing the ultimate gift - eternal life. Amen.

"Have fun storming the castle!"