A.W. Tozer's Ordination Prayer

O Lord, I have heard Thy voice and was afraid. Thou hast called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. Thou are about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, our Lord, Thou has stopped to honor me to be Thy servant. No man takes this honor upon himself save he that is called of God as was Aaron. Thou has ordained me Thy messenger to them that are stubborn of heart and hard of hearing. They have rejected Thee, the Master, and it is not to be expected that they will receive me, the servant.
My God, I shall not waste time deploring my weakness nor my unfittedness for the work. The responsibility is not mine but Thine. Thou hast said, “I knew thee—I ordained thee—I sanctified thee,” and Thou has also said, “Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” Who am I to argue with Thee or to call into question Thy sovereign choice? The decision is not mine but Thine. So be it, Lord. Thy will, not mine, be done.
Well do I know, Thou God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor Thee Thou wilt honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor Thee in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live.
It is time, O God, for Thee to work, for the enemy has entered into Thy pastures and the sheep are torn and scattered. And false shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Thy flock. The sheep are deceived by these hirelings and follow them with touching loyalty while the wolf closes in to kill and destroy. I beseech Thee, give me sharp eyes to detect the presence of the enemy; give me understanding to distinguish the false friend from the true. Give me vision to see and courage to report what I see faithfully. Make my voice so like Thine own that even the sick sheep will recognize it and follow Thee.
Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should become a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the face of the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet; not a promoter, not a religious manager—but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from the bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that I could make my life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it comes. Or if, as sometimes it falleth out to Thy servants, I shall have grateful gifts pressed upon me by Thy kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that it will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And if in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour that I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.
And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven. Though I am chosen of Thee and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am but a man of dust and ashes, a man with all the natural faults and passions that plague the race of men. I pray Thee therefore, my Lord and Redeemer, save me from myself and from all the injuries I may do myself while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength and tell of Thy righteousness, even Thine only. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.
Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and make me to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting. Amen.

Nazarene Regional Prayer Summit

Just got home from San Diego after hanging out with a bunch of pastor types. The denomination scheduled 8 prayer gatherings across the US with no speaker, agenda or program. They capped each summit at 200 clergy but was unnecessary because no gathering was that large.

It was facilitated by Daniel Ketchum, Tom White and Dan Copp. Tom facilitated and initiated the time by declaring us to be "off duty". As pastors we all have tendency to take charge, lead, make transitions, teach and talk even without the prompting of the Spirit.

Even after the admonition to wait on God and then submit, defer and prefer one another, as soon as the floor openned it was like the kid's boardgame hungry, hungry hippoes - all vying to eat the marbles and win.

We were hungry to find a word, give a word, look good, lead, get something out of it and we missed God. There was the crazy lady singing off key, the young and brash man wanting to show off so he could climb the ladder and the old man trying to make us believe everything is just fine.

The question was posed after 8 prayer gatherings for the Church of the Nazarene are we more pessimistic or more hopeful for the denomination. One of the facilitators lamented..."slightly more pessimitic".

Covenant Prayer

Lord, I am no longer my own, but Yours.
Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for You or set aside for You.

Exalted for You or made nothing for You.

Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

For I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine, and I am Yours.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

Africa - Final Thoughts

• We are shaped by our cultures. There are comparisons in American and African cultures and both contrast the Kingdom Culture.


• The call to live in God's story of Creation - Incarnation - ReCreation is for every person.


• Law and order is good for a society. Driving in Uganda was scary as many followed road rules as suggestions.


• God is good no matter how bad it is. (remember Africa if you think you've got it bad)
• I've lived in the excess of American culture rather than the Kingdom culture of faith, hope and love.
• I want to live in eternal life today by loving God and loving others not just confessing with my mouth or believing in my heart Jesus is Lord.
• I am not called to move to Africa but came home with a greater passion to serve my church and community (while hoping to visit Uganda again to visit my new friends and encourage their ministry).

Africa - 12

The story of Kampala, Uganda is filled with drama. It is symbolically a city set on 7 hills. Until 1875 it was believed that the tribal gods lived on these mountains. That is when the first Christian missionaries arrived. Believing that Jesus is Lord and teaching that he climbed the mountains to pray to the Most High God, they built their churches on these places as a witness to Ugandans.

At first, Catholic and Protestant missionaries fostered competition for converts. That was until the persecution began and they united in the person of Jesus. A group of 45 Anglican and Roman Catholic martyrs were executed during the persecution of Christians under Mwanga, kabaka (ruler) of Buganda (now part of Uganda), from 1885 to 1887.

We stayed at a guest house on the foot of the mountain where the first Christian church still stands beautifully as a testimony to the faith of those pioneers. I attended a Wednesday morning communion service where they shared from the gospel of Mark, took in 2 new members and welcomed me like one of their own.

Even now with some of the mountains hosting Islamic Mosques, the Church is still being built and is strong in Uganda.

Africa - 10

ROAD TRIP

We woke up to no electricity or hot water. We planned a trip to Jinga and thought gas at $7 per gallon was a good deal so we went.

We met with Pastor Hanington and Pastor Godfrey at the Source Cafe. They both pastor village churches and are connected with Cross Style Ministries. I enjoyed exchanging stories of family and church. We also introduced them to two African ministers associated with Amahoro for possibly a future partnership. Hanington summarized it when he said, "we digested the cross".

We then left for rural Uganda and saw a new water well put in a village for $5000. This gives clean water to 80 families or 400 people.

Then further down the dirtroad to a house where Paul and his wife live. They have 4 children of their own and two years ago brought in 20 children who were orphaned due to hiv/aids. They make necklaces to sell and farm their own food to survive.

We headed back into civilization and stopped to see the Nile River and subsequent falls. It was weird to see it with my own eyes after seeing it on a map for so long. Breathtaking and beautiful!

After a coke (made with sugar not corn syrup) we crammed back in the vehicle and headed back to the guest house. We stopped to buy a stalk of sugar cane which makes for a great appetizer when after a week I'm over the food. Very tired but a good day!

Africa - 9

SATURDAY/ SUNDAY

We met for services at Kampala International University, home of the Giraffes! Scott preached Saturday evening on God's creation story and his calling of us to join him in co-creation. I preached Sunday morning and spoke out of Mark on being captured by God's love and joining Jesus in his revolution of mercy, justice and reconciliation. Both crowds were made up of students that number 200+. The welcome was warm and we made many friends and will stay in touch through email.

Dave and Breilan both preached at a village church called Disciples of Christ Fellowship. They shared out of Philippians. Breilan spoke first followed by worship and then Dave spoke. Again a crowd of 200+ and they were asked if we could all return for a pastor's conference. It was Breilan's first time preaching and I heard he did a great job!

Pastor Kennedy of University Family Church at KIU has been gracious and hospitable along with his staff in caring for all our needs. He concluded our service with a phrase that is working on me...

"The church sleeps in the light, as the world is dying in the darkness".

Africa - 8

We drove through the slums last night. We saw kids younger than Kennedy and Jameson on the streets who were abandoned and begging for food. Our host said, "the mothers love them but cannot provide for them. When a home no longer has food it is no longer a family." The mothers leave the kids on the street hoping that someone would take care of them.

Today we saw some SUCCESS STORIES...

First, our new friend, Caleb, took us to some of his homes for boys. Caleb rents a home, brings in abandoned boys and raises them as brothers in a family. They focus on education, health, God and community service (luke 2:52). As a boy gets older he becomes the mentor and Caleb starts another house to multiply the ministry. There are now 200 kids in homes with no more than 20 in each one so it doesn't feel like an orphanage.

Then, we took a boat across Lake Victoria to the Bethany Village. Churches and other ministry organizations banded together to create a village for orphans with a school, church and homes.

Last we met Mary. She was a school teacher and hosted a group of children teaching them. When funds went away, she quit her job and invited 15+ children to live with her. They live in one room of her house and rents out the rest to pay for food. These children were full of joy, singing and dancing for us.

I will upload photos and video when the internet connection is faster.

Why do these people give so much?

Caleb explains... he says there are 2 formulas to receive eternal life in scripture. The first is Luke 10 stating that we should love God and others. The second is Romans 10 that says if we confess and believe we will be saved. Caleb teaches Luke 10. Caleb lives Luke 10 by loving these kids (even the non - Christian kids and knowing 25% of them are Muslim).

America is Romans 10. Africa is Luke 10.

Africa - 7

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

I arrived in Entebbe Tuesday night, finally catching a flight through Amsterdam. Our host, Kennedy Kirui, and Grace picked me up from the airport and I was happy to see a friendly face.

Driving - I seriously thought we would die driving on the dark roads or kill any group of people walking or on a scooter. I was told that there are rules of the road but no one follows them.

People - not enought adjectives; friendly, joyful, hospitable, knowledgable, articulate, conversive

Worship - everyone participates, true communal celebration, expressive while intimate

Teaching - very biblically literate and not willing to swallow anything without reasoning it out and making sure it is practical

Food- beans, rice, boiled bananas, meat (with lots of bones), bottled soda

So far I'm loving it. We just finished the Amahoro Institute and are staying in an Anglican guest house in Kampala, Uganda. We will next go to a children's ministry in local slums, attend a University Church and then head to Jinga on Monday.