Almighty God,
I pray for your church.
The world is so broken
Your Church is broken.
Your call and your love and your
grace are so big.
The fruit you bear through those
you call is so vital.
And yet, We forget the fruit that
is hard to reach.
We give up.
Who you call is not limited by age,
gender, race, status, orientation, disability
The church churns out leaders who
fit a certain mold
While so many people go unreached
And we wonder
Why aren’t we reaching people?
The answer is because our practice
of church reveals that we really don’t care about some people.
We really don’t want some people.
We don’t really love everybody
And we are not Jesus.
And the kingdom has not come.
How can the church be the Body of
Christ when we refuse to love parts of the body?
When we judge on narrow standards
we limit our seeing
We limit our reach
We limit our fruit.
We are not measuring effectiveness,
we are measuring sameness.
We are not seeking mission
We seek security.
Lord, I lament the pain the church
causes.
I pray for healing and wholeness
and peace.
I pray for those whom the church
limits
I pray their spirits may not be
crushed.
I pray their gifts will not go
unused.
I pray the church will wake up.
I remember the days when the church
started fires for you Lord
I remember the days when the church
led change for justice
I remember the days when the church
sought after those on the outside
Without those who are outsiders
Our church will fail… and for too
many it already has.
Help us Lord.
Hold us Lord.
Fill us Holy Spirit.
Guide our Feet.
Tell us where to go.
I hope we listen.
Ignite us!
