By Mark A. Taylor
The big man with broad shoulders and a wide grin greeted me as I headed toward my display table. I was about finished setting up for the annual leadership conference, “ReChurch,” sponsored by Indian Creek Christian Church in Indianapolis. Better known as “The Creek,” the church hosted the event last Thursday and Friday, November 6 and 7. He greeted me with a firm handshake and introduced himself as Kevin Hart, executive minister for operations at the megachurch. I told him my name, and he asked me, “Can I pray for you?” With others passing in both directions beside us, he put his hand on my shoulder and asked God to work through the upcoming conference to bless and help me.
Gary Johnson, senior minister at The Creek, opened his first message reminding attendees that the church had prayed for all of them before ReChurch 2014 began.
I”d never before been welcomed to a conference with an individual, personal prayer. But I wasn”t alone. Staff members from the church had positioned themselves throughout the hallways leading toward the church”s main auditorium. Their goal was to greet and pray for every one of the 500 or so registrants to the two-day event. In the 30 minutes before the opening worship service, huddles of church leaders paused and prayed. Many had come with a carload from their churches, some from as far away as Michigan and Virginia.
“We”ve been praying for you since August,” senior minister Gary Johnson said as he began his sermon to kick off the event. “As you registered, we have prayed for you by name.”
Later I bumped into Kevin and told him more than one person had reacted as I had, surprised by the prayer as we arrived. “It”s just obedience,” he said. And I walked away realizing I”d always considered prayer a blessing to experience, but not a command to obey.
And yet Scripture couldn”t be clearer. A quick check of any study Bible will prove the point with a list of references including 1 Chronicles 16:11, Matthew 7:7, Luke 18:1, Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, and James 5:13.
Early in Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? Philip Yancey asks the question that has come to most of us as we”ve wrestled with life: “Why pray?” Yancey answers that we pray because Jesus prayed.
When doubts creep in and I wonder whether prayer is a sanctified form of talking to myself, I remind myself that the Son of God, who had spoken worlds into being and sustains all that exists, felt a compelling need to pray. He prayed as if it made a difference, as if the time he devoted to prayer mattered every bit as much as the time he devoted to caring for people.
The ReChurch conference was a wonderful experience for me. I was encouraged by the response of so many to CHRISTIAN STANDARD and the new app and digital editions we have introduced. I felt the prod of God”s Word from the pointed, practical preaching and the rejuvenating, motivating presence of his Spirit in the jubilant times of worship.
Kevin Hart
God answered Kevin Hart”s prayer for me at ReChurch. I”m pretty sure Kevin wouldn”t be surprised to hear that. And I can”t help but ponder what would happen if every conference were preceded and permeated by prayer as this one was.
What would we see and experience if every convention, every worship service at every church””indeed, every attempt by every Christian to serve or evangelize””were started and finished with the belief that prayer would make the end result stronger and more effective?
Prayer was not the topic of any sermon or workshop at ReChurch. But, in a way, the conference was all about prayer. Does prayer make any difference? ReChurch convinced me anew that the answer to that question is always yes.
Mark, I enjoyed reading about your positive and prayer saturated experience at ReChurch. Gary Johnson is an extraordinary communicator. Kevin Hart has been one of my chief encouragers for years! Good stuff. Great report!
Good Job Mark. Thanks for highlighting this great conference and this great church. ReChurch is definitely well planned and executed and a worthwhile endeavor for Church leaders.