Discussions on Civil Righteousness: The High Calling but Lowly Business of Peacemaking

The Wall - a silent, public prayer meeting to end racism.  www.civilrighteousness.org

A few years ago, I was leading worship during a pastors’ prayer luncheon for Jesus Loves Kzoo (an 11+ year old evangelistic unity movement in our region).  As I was sitting at the grand piano, I saw an internal vision of my husband and I laying down on our faces, with our arms outstretched in front of us and our legs stretched behind us.  I saw our region’s spiritual topography laid out around us.  Our hands were touching one group of people and our feet were touching another.  In the vision, I saw people walking over our backs from one people group or church to another.  We had become human bridges that connected ethnicities, people groups, and denominations.  In the vision I saw others laying prostrate to serve in the same way.

In that moment I had a revelation of God’s beautiful strategy of peacemaking.  He uses His children to serve as peacemakers, as bridge builders.  However, it required us to go low….really low…..so low that it would feel like people were walking all over us.  Talk about humbling!  But if we could lay our lives down so that His Bride could be unified, then the world would acknowledge that the Father sent Jesus into the world.  According to John 17:23, our stunning, supernatural unity would become a sign and a wonder that reveals Jesus as the Son of God.  

Jesus Himself is a powerful model for living as a peacemaker:  He stretched out his arms and his legs on a wooden cross to become the ultimate human bridge, the ultimate intercessor, connecting a dying, lost, and, corrupted humanity with a loving Father.  

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.  Matthew 5:9

This word “sons” is the Greek word “huios” [υἱοὶ] , meaning a mature son.  This is the son that could conduct business as his father in the marketplace.  It was the son who can wear the family signet ring with authority.  When the Father announced Jesus at the Jordan River, He said, “This is my son (huios), whom I love, with him I am well pleased.”  (Matthew 3:17) Peacemaking is what mature sons do.  They destroy chaos and disunity with their peace.  According to one definition at HELPS-Word Studies, a peacemaker “bravely declares God's terms which makes someone whole.”  A peacemaker chooses to view someone through the lens of imago dei, one created in the image of God.

How do we access this peace?  We learn in Galatians 4 that peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  In essence, we cannot release what we have not grown.  King David the psalmist declares that we thrive as fruit-bearing trees when we daily meditate upon His Word.  Peace is grown from a life rooted in His love, daily meditating on His Word (Ephesians 3, Psalm 1).

In an age where people are often blinded with offense, division, and rage, it is this vision of serving as a peacemaker that continues to grip me.  Let’s step into our calling as mature sons of God.  Let's go low.  Let’s be the bridge.  

Civil Righteousness Pt. 3

You're Glowing!

“You’re glowing!”

I remember the first time I experienced my own quiet time (time set side to pray, read my Bible, and journal for the purpose of encountering God and hearing His voice).  I was invited to attend a Young Life Leadership retreat at James Madison University.   At the retreat, they sent us out into the woods to have a “quiet time.”  Although I grew up in a Christian home and had prayed many a prayer, read my Bible, memorized zillions of scriptures, and had even led Bible studies, this was my first time having my own private time with the Lord with the exclusive purpose of encountering Him. 

So, I walked off into the woods with my Bible, a journal, and a pen.  And with these three simple tools, I encountered the Living God.  I felt His presence.  His Word came alive.  I heard His voice.   I encountered His goodness.

At the end of the allotted time, I almost skipped back to the camp, eager to share about my God encounter.  My soul was bubbling with incredible joy!  Soon after, they drove us back to the college.   As I walked down my dorm’s hallway, one of my hall mates immediately commented upon seeing me, “You’re glowing!”  Still overflowing with joy, I laughed and told her about the retreat.

I grew up in a Christian home and knew what prayer was, what Bible study was, what attending church was.  I watched my parents speak in tongues, pray for the sick, worship Jesus, and boldly proclaim the gospel to coworkers and friends.  But up until this point, I had never encountered Him for myself in a devotional posture.  And something profound happened to me that crisp autumn day during my freshman year: I encountered the Living God.  On my own.  And something changed within me.  I knew I could encounter Him like this as often as I wanted.  The door of personal devotion had opened in my life and the heavens were the limit!

All these years later, I sit here in this beautiful beach chapel along Lake Michigan’s shore at Camp Arcadia, feeling the evening sun’s rays paint my face with gold.   And I am reminded again as I read my Bible and listen to the Lord speak to my spirit - I’m glowing.

The Journey to Becoming an Urban House of Prayer

I’m sitting here at our house of prayer, thinking about the process of how God called our house of prayer to move into an urban community.  My husband and I (and our kids) had already been serving at an inner city church plant for a couple of years.  Our pastor and his wife had been a part of the process of birthing the Kalamazoo House of Prayer.  A couple of of years into KHOP’s existence, our pastor had a dream that our prayer room had moved inside his church.  Pastor Mike and his wife Yolanda invited us over to their home, and over a scrumptious meal of King crab legs (John’s favorite food), he shared his dream with us.  I was surprised and a bit flabbergasted at this idea.  I was not surprised at the idea of moving, since we had received a prophetic word early on that KHOP would move a couple of times before we found our permanent location.  However, the Vanguard North Church building was still in disrepair - when it rained outside, it rained inside, had issues with regulating heating, etc.  At that moment, my husband and I did not at all feel like KHOP was supposed to move to that building.

However, we brought the proposal back to our board of directors.  After a season of prayer on the matter, one of the board members came back and said that she really felt that the move was from the Lord and that we needed to seriously consider it.  We spent another month in prayer and felt the Lord saying, “Yes.” to the move.  We agreed that we would make the move once the roof was repaired.

Marked by Kingdom Transformation

Once I warmed up to the idea of moving to the Vanguard North building, I got excited about relocating our prayer room deeper into our city.  We always had felt that we needed to be inside the city, closer to the downtown area.  And my husband especially sensed that the north side was strategic to God’s coming revival.  Many years ago the Lord marked our hearts for city transformation through the George Otis Jr. Transformations video series, as well as through reading books on city transformation and spiritual warfare by authors such as John Dawson (YWAM), Ed Silvoso (Argentina revival), Peter Wagner (Wagner Leadership Institute), and Cindy Jacobs (Generals of Intercession).  

Even before I met my husband John, as a young single woman, my heart was stirred for revival, unity, racial reconciliation, and city transformation.  I hungered for a move of God that would not just fill our churches, but transform our cities. 

I remember reading Silvoso’s book That None Should Perish back around 1998 and wondering if I was reading material “above my pay grade.”  When I asked a prophetic friend that question, she wisely replied, “I think you’re making deposits for your future.”  And little did I know how right she was. 

One thing I did not fully grasp back in 1998 was that one of the greatest keys to experiencing a historic, transformational move of God in our cities was united, night and day prayer.  As a young 20 something, I knew personal prayer and fasting were important and I believed that weekly intercessory prayer with others was important.  However, I did not have a concept for day and night corporate prayer.  That would be a revelation that would come years later.

KHOP Moves

Many months before we moved KHOP to Kalamazoo’s north side, we began casting vision for the move.  We knew that our KHOP family would need time to get used to the idea that we would be moving into an urban neighborhood that was a bit rougher than what most of our KHOP family had been accustomed to.  What I did not expect was some of the verbal push back we experienced, even from friends.  This move was exposing some fear and reticence in our hearts as a prayer community.  

Although I understood people’s nervousness to a certain extent, and could readily acknowledge there was an elevated risk in this move, I still found myself a little frustrated.  How can we pray and intercede for the people of our city only from a “safe” distance?  [And in today’s violent new reality of mass shootings, what is “safe” anymore? According to Brother Andrew, the famous Bible smuggler, the safest place is the place of obedience to God’s will for our lives.] We pray about transformation but then don’t want to position ourselves in a neighborhood where our consistent, tenacious, faith-filled prayers would have the most impact?  And this was little Kalamazoo, not a metropolis such as Chicago or Detroit.  

Looking back, I believe that part of my frustration with others’ fears was that it was mirroring some of my own secret meditations over the last few years.  Did I really believe in city transformation?  How powerful did I believe this amazing gospel is?  Can His Kingdom transform a city even before His return?  Was I willing to go where the Lord was inviting me to go?  No matter the cost?  No matter how outwardly or inwardly uncomfortable it made me?  Was I willing to do it even if the move whittled our ministry down to just our family and a handful of others?

We even received advice from a respected prayer movement leader that if we relocated to a neighborhood where people did not feel safe, that people would stop coming.  We listened to this admonition, seriously prayed over it, acknowledged its truth, but still felt the invitation from the Lord to plant KHOP on the north side for a season.

What happened when we moved? As expected, we lost a few families at first due to the move (some of which returned).   Concrete change: the drug house adjacent to our property was busted within 7 weeks of our arrival.  During our first 6 months here, a local policeman asked our hosting pastor what was happening.  The policeman had noticed a decrease in illegal activity and thought things felt more peaceful in the neighborhood.  Pastor Mike responded, “Oh, that’s because we pray all the time now!”  

Does this mean that illegal activity and violence has disappeared?  Not at all.  Trust me, it still exists on the north side.  There was even a short stint about a year ago when a few neighborhood youth were stealing coins out of our vehicles (targeting the older vehicles that did not lock well).  So, we’ve established specific parking lot and prayer room protocol for the safety of our KHOP family.  But God IS moving and people’s lives are being transformed one by one. 

We’ve had the opportunity to help facilitate street ministry (with Jesus Loves Kzoo) for a couple of mission teams from the International House of Prayer University.  The first year a team came, their students noticed how open people in the neighborhood were to receiving prayer.  They commented how their street ministry teams were reaping the fruit from our consistent intercession (and I would add our church's consistent street ministry).  As we prayed and worshiped, the Spirit of God had been softening hearts.  Praise God!   

Because John and I serve at Vanguard North Church, we get to see the Holy Spirit’s incredible work in people’s lives on a weekly basis - beautiful men and women experiencing freedom from addictions and strongholds: heroin, weed, Nicotine, alcohol, sexual promiscuity, racism, prejudice, anxiety, depression, bitterness, etc.   Witnessing people choose Jesus over everything else has given us great joy!  Being a part of the Vanguard North family has been a lifeline of encouragement for us on this urban prayer room journey.  

The Dream

In early 2017, I had the opportunity to attend the Stand conference at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.  While at the conference, Stuart Greaves, one of the senior leaders at IHOPKC, shared a dream he had received some years ago.  In it, he was sitting on a park bench in a large city.  He was watching two young black boys play on a playground.  In the dream, he remembers thinking about how safe they were at that park.  He knew that no one was going to hurt them or molest them.  Then, Stuart became aware of the manifest presence of God pervading the park.  He was curious from where it was emanating, so he began to walk.  His search led him to a community center, where he looked in, and discovered a prayer room going in the back of the community center.  Night and day prayer was the key to cultivating the atmosphere of heaven, which was causing this urban neighborhood to become such a safe place that these two little boys could play with complete freedom and confidence.  

When Stuart shared his dream at the conference, it both encouraged and captured my heart.  Encouraged…because we were already doing this very thing at KHOP.  Captured…because I sensed an invitation from the Holy Spirit in that dream.  Perhaps the breakthrough our urban ministries need can only be found in united, night and day prayer.  And in no way am I suggesting that prayer and worship are the only things our ministries should be doing.  Not at all.  I believe and my life bears the fruit of the impact of Holy Spirit-breathed evangelism, discipleship, deliverance, healing, hospitality, benevolence….  But I will go on the record to say that ministry unto God through prayer and worship should remain our first priority, and that everything else flows from our pursuit of Him.  

This is what I’ve learned over the last five years of leading a house of prayer: when we enthrone the Lord in our worship and praise, we discover and tap into His river of life that surges from His throne (Ezekiel 47, Revelation 22 ).  And when we choose to do it together, as His unified Bride, we tap into an anointing that can break strongholds over an entire region.  Our cities need His river to flow through every street, into every home, business, and school.  And the Lord has chosen to partner with us, His sons and daughters, to release this roaring river of life.  Today.  In my city.  In your city.  In my nation.  And in yours.

Is There Room in My Inn?

Today I did something I rarely do.  I stopped for a woman who was waving her arms, trying to flag someone down, along Bronson Boulevard.  Although I do not make it a habit of picking up strangers, for some reason I sensed this woman truly needed assistance.  So, I pulled my van into a nearby parking lot and opened up the side door.  (The kids and I were on our way to church.)

When Leora slipped onto the middle seat, she told me that she needed help and had tried to go to a few other churches that morning, but had found them already closed for the day.  I laughed and said that ours was just getting ready to start (we start at 12:15PM).  She continued by telling me about how he daughter was recently murdered and her body was dumped in the Kalamazoo river and she was now taking care of her grandkids full time.  She had run out of money and did not know how she was going to pay that week’s rent (presently staying at a local not-so-reputable inn) and they needed toiletries and food on top of everything else.

Having served in ministry on the northside of Kalamazoo for a few years now, I am frequently asked for financial help, from bus tokens, to gas money, etc.  The Kalamazoo House of Prayer’s policy is to not give out financial assistance, but we direct people to nearby, local compassion ministries (Gospel Mission, Deacon’s Conference, Ministry with Community, Loaves & Fishes, etc. including our home church, Vanguard North, whose building KHOP rents time and space from) that provide free meals, housing, clothing, furniture, and have the means and know-how to provide assistance.  And, I know that our KHOPpers often do help with specific needs if they feel the person’s story is valid.  Our watch leaders have purchased groceries, bought restaurant meals, paid for bus tokens, and given rides as they have felt led.

But whether or not the story is true is the hard part for me.  

Although some people have genuine need, like the grandma who recently needed milk for her young grandkids, there are others that are trying to scam their way into a few extra dollars.  It’s not always easy to tell the difference, and I have to be careful to not harden my heart to all requests for assistance.  But being scammed is frustrating!

Just this week, I was personally asked for money at least 5 times, three times while out walking downtown, once in a McDonald’s Drive Thru, and one time driving (the situation listed above).  After the first two solicitations, that I refused, I asked the Lord for help in discerning His will.  When do you want me to give?  Every time?  Should I always have a dollar ready, Lord?  How do I show compassion when I am feeling scammed?  How do I discern your will in each situation?

I am not blogging about this because I feel I know the answers to these questions, because I don’t.  I am blogging because I am trying to figure this whole thing out.  And, I know my kids are carefully watching me.  I want to be able to encourage them as the Apostle Paul did to the Corinthians when he admonished them to “follow me as I follow Christ.”  I pray almost daily for our family to walk in incredible compassion.  And I acknowledge that it makes no sense to pray this prayer and then ignore the ones who are asking for my compassion.  God loves everyone, especially the scammers, the drunks, and the high.  [Preaching to myself right now.]  And He wants me to love them as He loves them.  He wants me to see them as beautiful people made in the image of God, people for whom He died.

Back to Leora….  The kids and I brought her with us to church to meet my church family and meet with our pastors and elder to see what our church could do for her.  Our church is filled with people who have physically and emotionally survived horrendous life experiences, so I believed she would discover a kinship with those she met.  However, we are a very small church without a lot of resources.  I told her I could not promise what we could do for her, but I knew we’d help her somehow.  Before, during, and after the service, she encountered the tangible love of our church family and more importantly, encountered God’s manifest presence.  Jesus knows her, loves her, and wants to heal her pain.

Besides many hugs, conversation, and prayers, Leora was also able to receive rent for the week and a trip to the store to purchase toiletries and food for her family.  (She’s already been working through a housing assistance program and is on a waiting list.  She just needed short term help.)  And, I donated some microwavable soups that I just happened to have in my van.  (She told us there was a microwave in their room at the inn.) 

Well….I am a work in progress.  Teach me, Father, how to see as You see, love like You love, and serve like You serve.  Help me embrace these often awkward and inconvenient moments and recognize them as invitations to show someone kindness as You would.  Please help me to discern when to financially give and when just to respond kindly.  Please help me to always welcome people into my “inn,” the inn of my heart, for by so doing, I know that I am welcoming You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them 

for what they have done.  Proverbs 19:17

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, 

you did for me.’"  Matthew 25:40

Wrestling with Disappointment

Some years ago, I remember sitting on the floor of our master bedroom, struggling with disappointment.  (The floor was, and still is, often the place I would sit when I wanted to spend time with the Lord.) I was leaning up next to the wall, thinking about all the hard stuff my husband and I had recently walked through and was continuing to walk through: an untimely and unwanted transition from our ministry positions, financial uncertainty, wondering if we should sell our home since we would soon be unable to afford it, and a struggle to see what the Lord was doing in the midst.  I was bummed.  Really bummed.  All I knew to do during that time was to dive into my secret place with the Lord.  I didn’t always have a prayer or a song….sometimes I just sat with Him and cried.

On this particular evening, I had the most unusual experience.  I sensed the Lord was laughing (in my spirit).  I was perplexed.  Why was He laughing?  Didn’t He know my feelings had been hurt by everything that went down?  Didn’t He know my dreams had been dashed?  Didn’t He know how embarrassing this whole situation was for me and my family?

Still He laughed.

And then I realized that He could see the road past the bend.  He knew the glorious things He had planned for us, and it was bringing Him great joy.  He wasn’t laughing at my sadness (and in reality at that point it could be more described as my private pity party); He was laughing over us.  He was laughing for how He was planning to demonstrate His goodness towards us.

Something shifted that evening.  His joy released strength into my heart.  His laughter gave me hope…hope that this transition wasn’t the end; hope that this transition was just the beginning of beautiful things.

This encounter didn’t necessarily mean my disappointment disappeared immediately.  It didn’t.  But my outlook began to be infused with a hope-filled expectation that good things were coming.

And in God’s timing, they most certainly did.

“Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

Nehemiah 8:10b

"The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

Zephaniah 3:17

The Cotton Ball Dilemma: Lean In, Listen, & Learn

So, I had a dream that one of my favorite worship leaders (an African American man) was trying to speak with me, but I couldn’t hear him very well.  I was frustrated I could not understand what he was trying to say so I kept leaning in closer and closer to him so I could hopefully make out his words.  As I drew closer, I suddenly realized that I had cotton balls in my right ear.  I pulled them out so I could finally hear what he was saying.

When I awoke and wrote the dream down, I understood that God was saying.  I believe the cotton represented political bias (my right ear, meaning I lean right in my politics, which I admittedly do) was causing deafness towards my African American brother.  I could not fully hear him until #1 - I moved closer to him and #2 - I removed my political bias so I could hear his words without obstruction.

Am I saying that leaning to the right is wrong?  Not at all.  I enjoy being a conservative when it comes to politics and do so because of my interpretation and application of Biblical principles.  However, being a conservative in my voting record and in my views on certain issues is totally different than being deafened by a political, partisan spirit.  I believe the Lord was warning me of being influenced by political bias.   Any political bias that blinds and deafens us to the cry of another people group needs to be removed from our mindset, no matter if it leans left, right, or somewhere else.  Our identity as a son or daughter of God is what defines us, not our political bent.

So, I had to ask myself questions such as, “What am I watching?”  Does everything I watch on the news decry the other side as demonic and evil?  What am I reading?  Does everything I read make people that disagree with me look bad?  Am I laughing at political jokes at the expense of others?  Do I read and enjoy negative gossip about various loud, left-leaning actors, politicians, and business moguls?"  

Basically, I was asking, “What am I ingesting?” I felt like the Lord was warning me to be careful.  I have found that the political spirit is seductive and is a bedfellow with self-righteousness, meaning that the political spirit will always make me believe I am inherently better and more righteousness than the person who disagrees with me.  Yikes!

Back to the dream: let’s look at my initial observation - I needed to move closer to my friend to hear his voice.  In my last blog I shared about how intentional friendships with people of other ethnicities can break down racial barriers.  I have to be close enough to my African American bothers and sisters so that they feel comfortable sharing with me how they really feel.  When I truly hear someone’s heart, disagreement will no longer dip into disdain. Empathy breeds understanding.  

If I want to be someone with whom others can share their thoughts, I need to demonstrate that I listen, care, do not immediately get defensive, and am a safe sounding board.  

I thought I was doing pretty well in this area already, but the Lord obviously saw some weeds in my soul that needed uprooting.  Since the Lord gave me this dream, I have been learning how to lean in, listen, and learn from those that have a different perspective.  Bridge-building begins with me.  Peace-making begins with me.  As my good friend Quese would say, "Unity starts with me."

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”   Proverbs 5:9

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity...for there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore." Psalm 133:1, 3b

Discussions on Civil Righteousness Pt. 2

Intentional Friendship & Healing The Racial Divide

Discussion on Civil Righteousness Pt. 1

About a year ago, I was chatting with my pastor (who is African American).  He shared how his friendship with my husband had brought healing to his heart.  My pastor shared how he had experienced hurt and betrayal at the hands of white men - and that in my husband he had found a white man he could trust.  Wow!  My husband’s goal was to not necessarily heal the racial divide with this friendship.  He just wanted to be a friend and support to our pastor.  But it was his friendship that healed a racial wound in our pastor’s heart.

There is a time and place for the powerful altar moments of prayer and repentance, where a community or individuals come together and ask the Lord to release healing for the racial divide.    And those moments are powerful for the pulling down of individual and community-wide demonic strongholds that blind people’s eyes and harden their hearts.  

But what if intentional friendship is also an altar?  What if the next step after those powerful encounters with the power of God is the intentional encounter with our neighbor or coworker?  

I think about Jesus encountering the woman at the well (John 4).  He intentionally travelled through a territory of the Samaritan race and culture, stopped at a watering hole in the heat of the day, so that he could encounter a woman who needed to encounter Him.

Prayer is necessary.  Worship is necessary.  Godly teaching is necessary.  Evangelism is necessary.  Good legislation is necessary.  All of these things are necessary to change lives and worldview in the realm of racial healing and reconciliation.

And beautiful, sometimes awkward, intentional friendship with those that look different than us.  This is also necessary.

 What if there are literally no people of other skin hues or cultures around you?  Then, pray and ask the Lord to connect you with someone.  He will.  The point is to be intentional, even in prayer.  However, don’t let prayer be your “out.”  Allow prayer to be a catalyst for hearing where the Lord would send you, just like the Father directed His Son to a Samaritan woman at a well.

We can do this, friends.  We really can.  One friendship at a time.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”  Matthew 5:9

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.”  Martin Luther King, Jr.