National Day of Prayer

I had the privilege of attending the Ohio Prayer Breakfast (sponsored by the Gathering) with my good friends Brad and Denny this morning. I had to suit up if you know what I mean... but the POSH meal and speaking line-up were worth the extra starch in the wardrobe (don't worry... no tie).

Governor Ted Stricklin shared some thoughts on Matthew 25 and our responsibility to serve the least of these. His Methodist seminary training came through for him.

Keynote speaker Rich Nathan of the Columbus Vineyard challenged the governor and all in attendance to help clean-up the mud in Ohio. God is not just about creation, but recreation. God is not just about genesis, but re-genesis, he repeatedly said.

Rich talked from Gen. 7 & 8 where Noah was getting out of the Ark after the flood. He said that what Noah saw upon getting out of the ark was nothing but mud. Ohio has some mud that we need to clean-up... Cleveland is the most poverty stricken city in the US and Cincinnati is #4. Marriages are falling apart. Unemployment is high. And God cares about that. He doesn't want to save us from this place... he wants his kingdom to come to these places. He wants to regenerate, recreate and redeem these places (now in part and one day in full).

Rich reminded us that new beginnings start with God...not us. So we must remember that we can't clean up the mud... God must be working on our behalf. So just like Noah got out of the ark and first reconnected with God, so must we. Rich challenged us 2 things: first, get out of the ark and second, reconnect to God.

I agree with Rich... when it comes to dealing with social issues the church is still in the ark. For some reason we seem to leave the work of caring for the poor and lifting people out of unjust situations to the state... as if God is not concerned about this physical world at all.

Rich challenged the crowd to choose hope and not cynicism. The cynic has given up on a better future and has withdrawn from the mud. The hopeful have made a spiritual choice to invest themselves in a better future, one in which God is working on our behalf.