Yes or No?

By Julie Gray

OK, friends, can we get real for a few minutes?

Many of us are pastors and church leaders. We do what we do because we have been called and commissioned. We have experienced the laying on of hands and being sent out. We carry the mission of Jesus Christ on our shoulders, and we long to see our communities changed because of it. We are a people of great conviction and belief, so much so that we have dedicated our lives and careers to living it out and sharing it with others.

We pray for the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. We seek wisdom and direction. We are on our faces before the throne of God crying out on behalf of our communities and our churches, interceding on their behalf and begging, “Come, Lord Jesus, come!”

And when the Holy Spirit shows up with a new idea or new opportunity, we check our calendars to see if we have time for it. We take it to the church leadership team to see how it will fit into our existing programs and budget without causing too much disruption. We essentially say, “Please hold that thought, God, while I see if I can work You into my schedule.”

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“The Outpouring happened because of a thousand little yeses every day.”

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Our “Yes” Answers and Answered Prayer

We long for God to move, but really don’t want to be bothered by what God might want.

Upon reflection about the Asbury Outpouring, Free Methodist Elder and Asbury University Vice President of Student Life/Dean of Students Sarah Baldwin asked, “If God had given us two days’ notice, would we have said yes? No. If God had given us two weeks’ notice, would we have said yes? No. We would have said we needed more time and planning. If God had given us two years’ notice, would we have said yes? No. We would have said we are a university dedicated to the teaching of students — we can’t give up two weeks of classes. The Outpouring happened because of a thousand little yeses every day.”

The same is true for us. The answers to the prayers we pray for God to move often are found in the tiny little yeses we say to God every day.

Satan will always provide us with many reasons to say “no” or “not yet” or “ask me later.” But a movement of the Holy Spirit depends on our answer being “yes.”

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“I heard God speak probably the clearest I have ever heard Him speak to me.”

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God Speaks: Kids Come First

About a year ago, the Visioning Team at our church was doing some demographics — both inside and outside the church. We wanted to truly understand our internal and external reality. As we listened to the number of families, children, youth, seniors, foster kids, single adults, and college students around us; as we got a glimpse of the diversity of our community and our church; as we could look at the concrete evidence of how much of an impact we were having on our community, I heard God speak probably the clearest I have ever heard Him speak to me: “If you don’t reach the kids and youth of your community, this church will die. I have placed them on your doorstep. They surround you. They play on your basketball court. Their parents park in your parking lot to pick them up from school. Love them in My name!”

It was a crystal-clear message. At that moment, the focus of our church changed. Kids Come First is one of our key strategies. Everything else we do is on the table to make resources, space, personnel, and time available to love the kids in our community and to see this generation transformed from being characterized by depression, anxiety, and suicide to being carriers of hope, purpose, and a love of life in Jesus Christ!

We didn’t know what it would look like. We still don’t, even though we are moving forward. We don’t have the staff, the money, the volunteers, or many of the other things on our wish list. But we are doing it anyway. We are opening the doors. We are providing food. We are learning names and creating space. We are praying for kids, families, and school. Where will it go? No idea. But my job isn’t to create a program or an institute. It’s to be on my face before the throne of God and say, “Come, Lord Jesus, come.”

When the Holy Spirit shows up, it’s to say “yes” a thousand times a day because our convictions and our belief in the power of God demand no less.

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“When the Holy Spirit breathes life into our convictions and moves them beyond simple belief, we see a new reality.”

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New Vision

According to the Book of Discipline, “Free Methodist ministers under appointment as pastors of churches are called to be leaders of God’s people. Leadership requires vision, daring, moving people to action, and living with the turbulence change brings. Pastoral leadership is rooted in a deep love for Christ and His compassion for human need. God’s resources are abundantly available for all who embrace this task in courageous and radical obedience” (¶5300).

When the Holy Spirit breathes life into our convictions and moves them beyond simple belief, we see a new reality. And the power of the Holy Spirit will move us with new vision, daring, and action through the turbulence change brings.

Let’s get on our faces before God. Let’s cry out to Jesus and ask Him to come. Let’s beg the Holy Spirit to move and do something surprising, powerful, and amazing like showing up in our everyday routine.

And when He does, remember the answer is “yes!”

This article initially appeared in The River Conference’s newsletter, The Current, and it is republished with permission.

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