Leading change in the church requires both a sense of urgency and the ability to stop and pray. But which of these is more important?
“If you have to choose between the two – stop and pray. Otherwise, you’re going to get out ahead of God.”
Lifeway Resources CEO, pastor and author Thom Rainer points out that he has not witnessed effective change in the church without the power of prayer. He shares on-the-ground research from more than 50,000 churches.
“I have yet to see any type of sustained change in a church that was not so bathed in prayer, that everybody who has a relationship with God through Christ is talking about it. It’s where people are praying for it in groups, the church is praying for it. Certainly the staff is coming together; elders, deacons, everybody is taking time to pray.”
Thom reminds us that we need to lead change in a timely manner, but never try to get ahead of God.
“Yes, you need to communicate a sense of urgency, yes you need to move quickly, but moving so quickly that you leave God out of the picture is foolish, unbiblical and unfruitful.
We need to prioritize prayer over our sense of urgency. Yet it’s still important to maintain a sense of urgency.
“When it’s all said and done, you pray and then you say, ‘Hey guys, hey ladies, if we don’t make these changes here is where we will be 10 years from now, 5 years from now.’
Thom suggests that we ask ourselves these important questions when moving towards change:
What we doing here?
What are we doing as believers in Christ?
Why do we gather in this local manifestation called the church?
What is our purpose?
Why do we exist?
He refers to the Great Commission from Matthew 28:16-20,
“The Great Commission is a sense of urgency that we are to go and make disciples of all people groups or nations. It’s an imperative that exists from the first century A.D., to 2016 today. So prayer, yes. Urgency, once you have prayed significantly and continue to pray.”
