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When you’re out on a hike and get stuck on a plateau you have a choice: uphill or downhill? If you’re stuck at the highest peak on that plateau, you only have one choice.
You must take a step.
If you’re in unfamiliar territory, you may face a tough choice. You run the risk of getting lost, trapped or wandering in circles.
The same applies to the pastors of churches that are stuck on a plateau. They’ve got to take a step in some direction. The problem is that first step.
Fortunately, we have a compass and a map. The Bible gives us reliable guidance on how to lead our churches off those plateaus. And the first step is prayer.
Step off the plateau and onto your knees
There’s a familiar tune that is sung by every church stuck on a plateau. The melody may differ from one congregation to the next, but the lyrics are always the same:
“Everyone we know is already a believer. We don’t know any unbelievers.”
For most churches, the first step off the plateau is for everyone to establish connections with those outside the faith. How else will the church get back on the mission (produce more disciples) without meeting people who have not heard or believed the gospel?
A scary step for some. A move outside the comfort zone for others. A puzzle for most. How do we connect with people and find new mission fields these days?
The same way the apostle Paul and his entourage did it: pray for open doors. He wrote from a prison in Rome, asking his fellow believers to join him in prayer for an opportunity to proclaim the gospel.
“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak” (Colossians 4:3).
“Door” is a metaphor; it represents access and opportunity. Paul’s prayer was for a chance to present the gospel to unbelievers while he was in chains.
If Paul needed to pray for opportunities and if he felt strongly enough about that need to ask others to pray with him, then shouldn’t we be praying the same thing?
For many a stuck church, the first step off the plateau is to get on their knees. Follow Paul’s example. Ask the Lord to open doors. Then pay attention. Watch for the doors begin to open.
The prayer God answers
Paul didn’t stumble into this prayer while he languished in prison. It was his regular practice. It began early in his mission work. When he reported back to his “sending church” in Antioch, he told them about “open doors” that swung open during his first missionary tour.
“Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27).
Later he wrote about another “door” that swung open during another missionary excursion. “But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:8–9).
Personal experience
I’ve experienced the answer to this prayer many times. The church my wife and I attend, which gives this prayer priority, has seen it honored and answered time and time again.
I’ll share one example.
Several weeks ago I realized I had not spoken with anyone about spiritual things in several weeks. One morning I asked God to open doors, to give me opportunities and to notice those “divine appointments.”
Later that morning I went for a run. Two miles into my route I turned a corner where a panhandler stood holding up a cardboard sign. It struck me that God had opened a door at that moment.
I remembered Acts 3:6. Huffing and puffing I managed to tell him, “I don’t have anything to give you, but can I pray for you right now?” We spent a few moments on that busy street corner in prayer. When we finished, it seemed as though God had moved in his life. I resumed my run, thankful for answered prayer and the door that swung open on that busy intersection.
When I finished the route, I walked the last quarter mile to cool down. A neighbor whom I hardly ever see was working in her front yard, right at the sidewalk. I stopped, and we chatted for quite some time. We began a relationship which I am now cultivating.
The point
The story isn’t about me. It isn’t about the apostle Paul. It’s about what churches can do to get off the plateau when they’re stuck.
The first step in moving off the plateau begins on our knees. Pray earnestly, pray diligently and pray daily that God will open doors, give access to new people and provide opportunities to engage those who need Jesus in spiritual conversations that will move them off their own spiritual plateau.
Photo source: istock
 | Bud Brown is an experienced ministry leader, writer and educator. He is co-founder of Turnaround Pastors and co-author of the ground-breaking Pastor Unique: Becoming A Turnaround Leader. He brings special expertise to change leadership in the local church, mentoring pastors to become revitalization leaders, training churches how to find and recruit the best talent, and training leadership teams how to achieve their shared goals. Learn More » |
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