By Brad Dupray
You see it in their eyes. As hundreds of people stream forward for anointing, their eyes tell the stories. Some are hurting. Some are joyful. Many are simply looking for a spiritual connection.
When our senior pastor, Barry McMurtrie, came to Crossroads Christian Church (Corona, California) 11 years ago, he introduced a concept to the elders that pushed us way outside of our comfort zone. He took seriously the admonition of James 5 that anyone who is sick should “call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him.”* As Communion was served each Sunday, the elders quietly came forward to be available for prayer to anyone in the congregation.
That time of prayer is now a part of the life”s blood of Crossroads. The response of the congregation has been so strong that the need for people to offer prayers has greatly increased to the point that an entire ministry is dedicated to the cause. Now the Crossroads “shepherds” ministry spans the front of the auditorium every Sunday during Communion, offering prayer for dozens who come forward.
Men and women, sometimes individually and sometimes as married couples, make themselves available, not as counselors, but simply to offer the “effectual fervent prayer” of a righteous person. The person coming for prayer will share his or her need and then the shepherd offers a brief prayer, lifting up the need and praying for each person involved by name.
The impact of this prayer ministry is felt not only by those being prayed for; the shepherds who are involved receive a blessing, too. One shepherd said, “It”s the best five minutes of my week. People walk away feeling the touch of God, but the blessing is not only theirs. I feel like God is using me to minister to them in an unusually powerful way.”
Recently, a new dimension was added to the congregation”s prayer ministry. The James 5 passage calls for the anointing of oil, so McMurtrie arranged for each of the elders to have a vial of it. He then called for people in the worship service who simply wanted to receive a brief prayer of blessing from the elders to come forward.
We expected to have the opportunity to minister to several more people than we could through our regular time of prayer at Communion. Much to our surprise, hundreds of people came streaming forward. In fact it was a large percentage of those who were in attendance.
For each person who comes forward the elder takes a drop of oil and makes the “sign of the cross” on his or her forehead, saying, “I anoint you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
That”s when you see it in their eyes. A point of spiritual connection is made. There is nothing special in the oil, nor in the people offering the prayer, but something special happens when people open themselves to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Crossroads now conducts this service of anointing every four to six weeks, and the response continues to be compelling.
In today”s “post-Christian” culture people are seeking a connection to God that takes them beyond the pragmatic. The popularity of television shows like Medium and the growth of Scientology and eastern religions are reflections of that quest. The challenge for church leaders is to break away from “the way we”ve always done things,” matching the deep spiritual nature of Christianity with a world that craves such depth.
Every week we discover that craving in the response of those attending services at Crossroads. We see it in their eyes.
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*Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Brad Dupray is director of public relations and advertising with Provision Ministry Group, Irvine, California, and serves as an elder with Crossroads Christian Church, Corona, California.
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