Summer time, summer time, sum - sum - summer time. This has always been a small source of anxiety for me as spring rolls into summer. Does God go on vacation or cut back on His involvement because of the change of seasons? Of course the answer is a resounding NO! So why do churches pare back certain ministry operations? I know the usual responses, especially in the frozen north land. Here are some of the typical reasons for activity reduction.

Vacation Season: What about the winter vacationers that head to warmer climates, some for extended periods of time.

Lake Homes: Different than winter time shares? Perhaps, but the majority of the congregations don't have vacation homes.

Summer Activities: Another red herring as we think that summer has more activity. What about school, homework, sports and extra curricular activities?

As we enter the summer season, are we feeling a freedom to make our decisions in a more self serving manner? Consistency in the Christian life is most important as a testimony to those around us. Church attendance should not drop in the summer, but it does. So we evidently make individual conscious choices to change our behavior. This very decision impacts the rest of our church life, inspiring the decisions that reduce ministry accordingly.

This past Sunday the congregation was polled on sermon related topics. The sermon was from Kings about Elijah and the decisions he made and the faith steps he took. The final question to the congregation was, "Which faith step would you like to take?" Out of approximately ten choices, one choice was the runaway winner with 62% of the 60-70 attendees at the service. That means that 37 to 43 people chose the answer, "Grow closer to God." The real task now is to move that desire from the head to the heart.

Interestingly, during this season of cutting back on activity, we are aggressively increasing the opportunity for people to grow closer to God. What was once a one time per month corporate prayer meeting is now a dozen opportunities to seek God on behalf of our congregation. As most of the small groups shut down or scale back for summer, time is freed up for people to choose a meeting to attend. Begin with one hour per month to step toward fulfilling your desire to draw closer to God. He rewards faithfulness and meets those who seek Him.

The questions are whether the desire has moved from your head to your heart and whether or not you are willing to take the step of faith. Growing closer to God will not just happen. It happens through obedience, responding positively to His call, and taking faith steps. Will you or won't you take a step by seeking Him in prayer?

Corporate Prayer Times - Which are you attending?

1st Saturday of the month - 9am - Sykes Residence
2nd Wednesday of the month - 7pm - Sykes Residence
3rd Thursday of the month - 7pm - Schaenzer Residence
4th Monday of the month - 7pm - Schaenzer Residence
Every Friday - 7:30am - Sykes Residence
Every Sunday - 9:15am - Stage Dressing Room

Come pray with and for those who are praying for you.
Generally lasts 1 hour, there should be a time to fit you.

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What is it that you want to become? Would you like to become a great speaker? Perhaps you would like to become effective at praying. Maybe leadership is your desire or possibly a passion for a particular ministry. Whether in the church or in the secular realm, the process is the same. It always begins with the same step; the first step.

A person does not begin a career at the pinnacle, but rather at the base. The base is where the lessons are learned and the foundation is built for a successful assent both in quality and quantity of experience. A preacher generally doesn't give an effective sermon in front of the full congregation as the first step of his career. There is education and possibly an internship before taking over the regular pulpit duties. A ministry leader generally has years of related experience before taking the reigns. An evangelist generally becomes adept at individual witnessing before talking to groups. There are always preliminary steps that lead to the top while building upon the experiences and adding to the level of confidence of the individual. Praying effectively is not any different in this regard.

The proverbial "step of faith" is essential to the journey. The step of faith is an obedience to the call placed upon someone by the Holy Spirit. That quiet voice that nudges and inspires someone to step out of their comfort zone and take a bit of a risk. Our job is to respond in a positive way to that call, thus positioning ourselves to receive the blessing of God in the joy and peace that only He can provide. We can take that first step in our own strength and even reach a certain level of "success", but without God in the activity the reward will not be the same. The point is, we need to take that first step when the Holy Spirit nudges us to do so. We will generally not be forced to do so, likewise, we will not be forced to receive the blessing. Obedience to the Holy Spirit is our duty as a follower of Christ. It is cute to do the whole WWJD thing, but how about if we actually do it. Consider these two verses:

John 5:19-20 "Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, 'Truly, truly, I  say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.'"

John 5:30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."

While the context of these verses differ from one another, the point we should observe is that Jesus was predicating His actions and judgment upon the leading of the Father. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us with the expectation that we would respond with positive actions. We tend to look at these situations as though we have a choice as to whether we will be obedient or not. The correct thinking is that we are expected to be obedient which leaves the only question, are we willing to be disobedient? Willing disobedience to the One we call Lord begs the question, is Jesus Christ really our Lord?

When we are prompted to pray, we need to do so in a timely fashion, if not immediately. When we are nudged by the Holy Spirit to begin attending a corporate prayer meeting, we should do so in obedience. When we are inspired to show hospitality by opening our residence to host a prayer time, we should respond accordingly to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Those who pray effectively did not begin with that reputation. They started from the beginning by responding to the call that the Holy Spirit placed upon their hearts. Those who pray in public aren't necessarily those who are bold enough to take on any challenge. More likely than not they followed the sequence of silently attending a prayer gathering, than quietly praying followed by praying out loud in a small group. As confidence and experience grew, they were able to more effectively follow the call of God upon their lives. Will we do likewise or will we choose willful disobedience? These choices reveal who we really are in Christ, professors or possessors of the new life in Christ Jesus. What is it that you want to become? Are you willing to be obedient to the call to take that first step?

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