Conference Recap, Pentecost Preview
Dear brothers and sisters,
It was great to see many of you at the conference last weekend! Often times upon returning home from a conference, someone will ask me, with a wry smile, “Well, was it the best conference ever?”, to which I usually say “Yes”, but this time I REALLY meant it. Because of our diminishing funds over the past number of years, we’ve not been able to bring in the “big name” speaker, but I think that has turned out to be to our great benefit. We have a lot of resources in our own personnel that we haven’t previously tapped, and drawing from them has been a great blessing.
I’m especially gratified by the increased expression coming from both our women and our younger generation leaders. I’m sure some of you would like to see quicker pace than what we are engaging, but I’m always happy with our “stumbling forward in the right direction” pace.
On Thursday night just before the start of the conference, I have always given an ARC pastoral direction kind of talk. This year, via some inspiration from Erwin McManus, I focused on Peter’s sermon at Pentecost and his specific reference to Joel’s prophecy. At the heart of that prophecy is the evidence of the Holy Spirit engaging the hearts of believers: envisioning, dreaming and prophesying. I took a particular slant on these Spirit activities in that talk and I want to briefly reiterate a few things.
I think all three of these expressions really have to do with the Spirit’s engagement of the soul and the renewal of that soul to see the Kingdom of God and to understand how to give expression to the Kingdom of God. Envisioning and dreaming, of course, have to do with having some sense of the Spirit’s direction into the future. I think that that’s crucial for us at this juncture of the ARC’s history, because I believe that God is wanting to continue to use us, but there must be re-infusion of His particular mindset so that we can get on to His particular path to continue to express His glory and image to a broken world. Prophesying on the other hand, has to do with the expression of those visions and dreams; the speaking out and the actual doing of good works and bringing the kingdom incarnationally to this world.
I don’t think that that’s the only interpretation or even the best interpretation of those verses, but I think that’s the particular slant that we need to be engaging. We need to do better at creating atmospheres in our churches where people are allowed to dream, envision and express. That doesn’t mean, of course, that anybody can do anything they want, but we certainly need to make a lot more room for the Holy Spirit to lead individuals and churches into new territory.
At the end of that talk, I projected an approach to Pentecost that will occur on May 23rd. Like the 120 believers in the book of Acts, who gathered in the upper room right after the ascension and spent the next ten days there in prayer, I’d like to call us to ten days of prayer leading up to the actual day of Pentecost. Click here for the document that you can use to make copies for the folks in your congregation. I want to more specifically encourage the senior leader and elders of all of our congregations to get hold of this, lead your people into this, and believe with the rest of the ARC that God wants to lay hold of us and re-envision all of us by His Spirit. I think the best way to approach this 10-day path would be to gather in small groups or even in 2’s and 3’s and try to find a place every day to pray. Although I don’t think you have to exactly use the document I’ve put together (some of you are apparently highly resistant to any kind of “form”, especially you old hippies!), I am hoping that you will engage the Lord at whatever level is comfortable for you.
And to those who will lead this in your congregation, let me say plainly – if you don’t decide to do this now, it won’t happen very well on May 13th. So a bit of preliminary promotion is not carnal, but may even be spiritual.
Before I close this note, a few thoughts and thanks about the conference:
- To Grace Church and their wonderful hospitality, many thanks.
- To the plenary speakers and workshop presenters, I heard nothing but good things and I’m grateful for all your hard work (all sessions can be found online at arcchurch.org).
- Special thanks to Rick Widener, Renée Horsman and Mary Lou Andrzejewski, who carried so much of what I hate to do. If I did it, none of you would be terribly happy.
- To our folks in Poland and Brazil and Mexico, thanks so much for making it to the conference every year. We really need your input and influence.
- To all of you who came for the first time, it’s a real sign of hope for all of us to see new faces who feel that this is a good place to live out the life of Christ.
Finally, I’ll be praying with all of you and praying that our approach to Pentecost will be met by a response from heaven that, if not including a sound of rushing wind and fire, will at the very least propel all of us closer to Jesus and out into the mission field.
In Jesus,
Ned