PHIL ~ Daniel, the forward and afterword to your book Old Paths, New Power are each written by a strong preacher who is also noted by their passion for prayer. What does this reveal to us about the heart and soul of your message in this book?
DANIEL ~
The men who wrote the foreword, preface and afterword (Erwin Lutzer, John MacArthur and Jim Cymbala) are unique and quite different from one another in many of their views. Yet, they all agree on the core components of church leadership – prayer and the ministry of the word. Each graciously added their voice to the imperative call and message of the book.
PHIL ~ Agree/Disagree: Acts 6:4 is the most ignored scripture of pastoral education ... And if you agree, what results are we reaping from that mistake?
DANIEL ~
In the book, I contend that the Acts 6:4 example of leadership is definitely largely ignored today, starting in how we are trained in seminary. At best we give lip service to the element of pastoral leadership in prayer. All we have to do is look at the amount of time pastors, church leadership teams, small groups and even church services allocate for biblical, life-giving prayer. The result is that we are distracted, diluted and diminished in our impact for the gospel in this generation. In Appendix 1, I offer eight practical reasons pastors struggle to embrace this focus. Of course, the book was written to empower and equip pastors to make a change in their priorities and effectiveness.
PHIL ~ Unpack the title for us: Old Paths ~ New Power
DANIEL~
Acts 6:1-7 tells the story of the old paths of New Testament leadership. The apostles were empowered to say “not” to the distraction of organizing a vital program for the church because they were resolute about their “yes” of prayer and the ministry of the word. Their example shaped an environment of powerful gospel advancement via the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts 6:7 states, “ And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” This same power and impact is ours today, if we can move away from the false reliance of modern-day leadership. As Os Guinness stated, “The church always goes forward best by going back first.”
PHIL ~ Prayer is often taught as if the pray-er performs in a recital rather than a symphonic concert. How does this model diminish the Church's ability to discern and declare the Lord's will in her praying?
DANIEL ~
I’ve heard it stated that we have become a society of “solo sapiens.” This approach to life and ministry, highly influence by Western individualism, has affected our lives in countless ways – and not for the better. Even in our approach to “vision” it is usually a solo concoction vs. a collective discover of the plan of the Holy Spirit via group prayer and fasting. Prayer in our services has been reduced to listening to some individual pray rather than incorporating real united prayer in our services. Again, if we are not giving significant time to this in our services, then it is not really important to us
PHIL ~ Your book presents a challenge to "build a culture of prayer." Every leader who reads this will readily agree but many of them will fail. What do we fail to understand about the process of building culture that makes success impossible, or negligible at best?
DANIEL ~
I devote an entire chapter to this topic and it is one that is deep within my heart as I coach pastors. Here is a summary of three of the seven principles I address in the book::
1. There is a difference between prayer programs and a prayer culture. Prayer activities tend to attract the same small group of prayer-motivated saints. A prayer culture infects ever dimension of the ministry.
2. A prayer culture always emanates from the epicenter of leadership. The single greatest indicator of the level of prayer in a congregation is the quantity and quality of the prayer in the lives and gatherings of the key leaders. When the prayer virus is incubated within the leadership team, with resolute passion and perseverance, it will spread into every ministry of the church.
3. A prayer culture is more a crock pot than a microwave. Change does not happen overnight. It requires exemplary leadership and relentless pressure over time.
In the book, I also talk about “building sidewalks where the footpaths already exist,” embracing a strong biblical conviction of the corporate nature of prayer and embracing the important mission impact of gospel praying.
PHIL ~ What is a missional agent and how do we become one? Discover them in our midst?
DANIEL ~
When leaders define clear and biblical priorities, as they did in Acts 6:4, it requires the saints to step up and take responsibility of significant ministry. The book rest heavily on the belief of the Spirit’s sufficiency in and through the lives of average, yet spiritually gifts, people in the church. In the Acts 6 story we see seven men selected. Most notable were Stephen and Phillip – yet all seven were used to help shape a powerful revival moment that resulted in profound gospel impact. When leaders stay focused on their salient priorities it promotes and environment of trust and empowerment that unleashes spiritual potential in and through the saints.
PHIL ~ My role with the National Pastors' Prayer Network thrust me into the exciting movement of the Holy Spirit calling pastors together for prayer. What have you observed and discerned these past twenty years? Strengths? Surprises? Struggles?
DANIEL ~
As you know, it takes great resolve for pastors to stay focused on prayer with the countless distraction of lesser things. Yet, the book offers great encouragement via dozens of video links to short message from pastors across North America who are demonstrating this commitment to prayer. I am grateful for all the initiatives that have been birthed over the years. I am especially grateful for places where I see profound cooperation and united prayer for the community in which pastors serve together. I’ve seen amazing things happen in Austin, Titusville, Reno, Little Rock and elsewhere.
My concerns are three-fold:
1. That we are emphasizing events and organization rather than an organic approach to revival. In our social media-crazed culture, I really do not think we are going to experience revival because we organized some big effort. I believe it will be quiet, deep and grassroots – occurring one heart, one pastor and one church at a time. This is the vision of this book and my hope is that it will be a simple tool that might will equip leaders toward this end.
2. That we might be exporting something that is not even working yet at home. I love coalescing with pastors and movements. However, I think every pastor needs to also be sure he is really making prayer the salient reality back home – in his life, his marriage, his leadership team and his church. That element of authenticity is vital.
3. That we are expecting a revival that is going to restore America to the good-old-days of conservatism and family values. We all long for that. But, given the obvious and snowballing trends of our culture, I think a real revival will spark even greater persecution because the gospel will become a threat to the hostile and secular forces of the day. Yet, this tension will keep us desperate and prayerful. We will then focus on transforming hearts rather than reforming society. In the end, the gospel will win. Whatever it takes to get the church humble, weak and desperate again will be the best thing for our nation because when we are weak, then we are prayerful – and ultimately strong.
PHIL ~ One more thing you'd like to present ...
DANIEL ~
The devil does not care what we replace the Holy Spirit with – as long as we replace Him with something. The more attractive and functional that replacement is, the more subtle the danger. Strange as it may sound, I write in the book that I am a recovering “leadershipaholic.” While useful in God’s hands, I believe we have overblown the concepts of “vision” and “leadership” in the church today, to the end that they have replaced a truly New Testament dependence on the Holy Spirit. Western society is the ultimate achievement culture – but biblical ministry is not achieved but rather received. This is where the old paths of Acts 6 come into play. We must resolve to make “the next new thing the first old thing” if we are going to recover our gospel impact in today’s society.
PHIL ~ Please write a prayer we can pray together toward the awakening of the Church through prayer and the ministry of the word.
DANIEL ~
Here is prayer that appears in the book from Os Guinness. I think he says it well,
Lord of the years, sovereign over time and history, speak to us in power by your word and Sprit, and so break into the shortsightedness and error of our understanding. Help us to distinguish the true from the false, the enduring from the passing, and the costly from the cheap. . . . Give to us such a clear understanding of the times in which we life that we may serve your purposes in our generation and be more truly your people in our world today. . In the name of Jesus, Amen.
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Thank you for this book. You are right on target. I believe it will be a great blessing to many pastors. I responded to Pray Chicago correspondence this morning before I saw this discussion on your book. Here is a part of what I wrote: "Not many pastors know and believe that prayer is the real work that we need to give priority to before the other leadership and administrative responsibilities that consume our time. We need a one day retreat to stir us to embrace Acts 6:4 "and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word,” then the pastors, hopefully will see the importance of giving 2-3 days for united prayer retreat for our city and commit to it."
Sunday Bwanhot
Thank you for this timely word, one hour a week for prayer, and opening and closing prayer on Sunday, is not enough. Not all pastors subscribe to this formula, and I know that there are pressures on every side on leaders.
Let us pray for our leaders and for those in authority over us, and choose wisely and follow the Spirit 's leading.
PMc
This is so very true. But I do believe that this book is for the entire body and not just for the leadership. I have seen that the leadership will get something good and that is where it will stay. Everyone needs this at the same time to make a substantial difference.
Thank you. Daniel!!
Thank you for this interview! I bought the book today and am really looking forward to reading it.
Daniel - you may have answered this in your book, but I'd like to pose a question based on recent experience in a very well-known church. When a church emphasizes services that are "seeker-sensitive", where there is expectation that a large number of the attendees may not even be believers, let alone people of prayer, how do you incorporate a culture of prayer into that type of environment?
Thanks again!
Andrew
[from Daniel Henderson to Andrew]
Thanks for your question. I would suggest that you read chapter 11, which I believe will more directly address your question. It is possible, but not as likely. It all depends on the kind of prayer culture that exists within the leadership team of the church. Of course, when it is vibrant at that core, it will naturally "leak" in to every part of the church, including the worship gatherings.