Pray for Your Church: Leaders (1)
… and [pray] for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6.19, 20
Tailspin?
Jesus is building His Church, and He is pleased to use the prayers of His people, all who believe in Him, to that end. As we’ve seen, the Architect and Builder of His Church has specific plans which He intends us to follow in our work. We must pray for the foundations of our church, that they may be what Jesus intends and that we may never depart from them.
And we must pray for all who build upon those foundations—church leaders and members—that we may follow the pattern revealed to us in the Word of the Lord, and not depart from it. Those of us who have followed Jesus for a half-century or more can testify of the great importance of praying for your church. For it is obvious that, while individual churches may be experiencing growth, the Church as a whole is in decline in this country. Recent news from the Pew Foundation that the decline appears to be “bottoming out” is hardly a call to rejoicing. Something is wrong with the Lord’s Church, and we can only look to ourselves, the builders of that Body and City, to discover our errors and return to the Lord’s blueprint.
Beginning with the leaders—pastors, teachers, and all shepherds of every sort.
Some time ago, during a class I was teaching about the Church and its ministry, a discussion began on the question of why so many churches seemed to be in decline, and why the Church as a whole was not having the kind of impact we see in Scripture. At one point the discussion, led by the students, began to focus on church leaders. A student asked me: “Do you think church leaders are working up to the level of their ability?” That is, are they just inept, not up to the task; and should we just replace them all?
I answered by saying that I did not believe church leaders were working up to the level of their ability. I still believe that most church leaders I know are gifted, devoted, sincere, and capable. No, I said, I don’t think that church leaders are working up to the level of their ability.
I said I thought they were working up to the level of their vision
And this is where our prayers for church leaders must begin.
Paul’s vision for church leaders
Church leaders—and members, for that matter—must imitate Paul imitating Jesus (1 Cor. 11.1) when it comes to their vision of who they are and what they’ve been called to do. Paul identified himself as an ambassador for the Kingdom of God. Everything He did was for the sake of the Kingdom, including planting churches and helping them grow. His vision never stopped with the local church. He was always looking through that work to the larger and more world-impacting work of realizing the Kingdom of God.
Paul was called to the Kingdom and glory of God and sent for the sake of the Kingdom, just as Jesus had been sent during His incarnation (Jn. 20.21).
Our churches—like Paul’s—need leaders with a vision for the Kingdom of God, men and women who are willing to be clapped into irons or hauled off to martyrdom for the sake of realizing more of the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God. Paul’s ministry was one of proclamation, both of words and life. And what he, as an ambassador of Christ’s Kingdom proclaimed by his preaching, teaching, and example was the Kingdom of God, as he reminded the elders at Ephesus: “…now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God will see my face no more” (Acts 20.25 italics added).
Paul’s vision was too vast, too all-encompassing, too transformative, too urgent, and too other-worldly to stop with, say, a vision that focused on more members, better facilities, larger budgets, additional staff, or regular “growth”. None of these, nor any of a thousand other ways church leaders might express their hopes for their churches, is a proper vision for church leaders. They—and we, 2 Corinthians 5.20—are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, and everything we do, including everything we do at or through our church, must be for the larger sake of the Kingdom and righteousness of Jesus Christ (Matt. 6.33).
Utter dependence
This vision requires, as Paul indicated in our text, utter and complete dependence on Jesus Christ, for every utterance of our mouths and every work of our hands. He must give us more of His Kingdom and more of the vision for it or we will never know it more than we do right now.
Jesus is King of kings. He is Lord of lords. He rules the world with truth and grace. He upholds the cosmos and all things in it by His powerful Word. He is making all things new. And what is His goal in this? To reconcile the world to the Father (2 Cor. 5.17-21) and to fill all things in all things with Himself (Eph. 4.8-10).
Put another way, to enlarge His Kingdom to the full extent of His active will (Dallas Willard), which He expresses through His Body, the Church. Jesus warned the “church leaders” of His day that they must enter the Kingdom wholeheartedly and lead the people of God into it or risk knowing the displeasure of God on all their work (Matt. 23.13).
Pray for your church leaders, that the commanding vision of their lives and work will be of God’s Kingdom, coming on earth as it is in heaven:
Father in heaven,
You Who have called us to Your Kingdom and glory,
grant that the leaders of our church
may see, with increasing clarity and conviction,
how the rule of King Jesus must come
through our church into our community
for the greater glory of Your holy Name.
For reflection
1. How would you explain the Kingdom of God to a new believer? What is it? What is the local church’s role in it?
2. Jesus commanded us to pray that God’s Kingdom should come on earth as it is in heaven. What should that look like? How would we be able know the Kingdom coming among us?
3. Church leaders need our prayers. How can you increase the focus, intensity, and frequency of your prayer for your church’s leaders?
Next steps—Preparation: Begin praying today that your church leaders would be more constantly focused on realizing the Kingdom of God.
T. M. Moore
Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Reviving your church
When believers pray with more focus and consistency for their churches, great things can happen. Our book, Restore Us!, can help you pray more consistently for revival in the Lord’s churches by using the book of psalms. Learn more and order your copy by clicking here.
Thank you.
Many of you are faithful and generous in praying for and supporting Crosfigell and The Fellowship of Ailbe. Thank you. I encourage all our readers to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal or Anedot, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
