A Week In DC
Terri and I were in Washington, D.C. recently for several meetings that have given us increased clarity, confirmation, and conviction as we continue the first year of our sondance journey. Here’s a synopsis of what we experienced and learned:
• The National Prayer Committee consists of around 60 folks from around the country who have a regional or national prayer ministry of some sort, and usually meets twice yearly. One of those is always in DC during the first week of May, to coincide with the National Day of Prayer, which I will mention in more detail later. Several of my spiritual mentors over the years have come from the NPC, and I have always enjoyed being in the same room with like-minded folks whose books on prayer line our shelves at home. This year, I think all of us arrived at our nation’s capitol with a heightened spiritual understanding of the seriousness of the times in which we live. Unprecedented political upheaval in the Mideast (more about that later, too), an unusual number of natural disasters around the world, and an unsettled national economy could together be more than sobering. But the NPC meetings were characterized by a hopefulness that comes from knowing who is in complete control of not only the spiritual realm, but also the political realm, the natural realm, and the economic realm. He really does rule over the earth and the affairs of man! This year we were also privileged to bring a guest with us: Jeff Eckart, who along with his wife Arianna, leads a student-led prayer ministry called Claim Your Campus. God has given them great favor on secondary school campuses across the nation. 
I have found that the NPC, and intercessors in general, love young people and understand the strategic nature of praying for them, so they loved to hear from Jeff about Claim Your Campus. They also loved to hear about the Call For Prayer that I have been working on for several months with the Campus Alliance Prayer Team. As I explained the Alliance’s commitment to help mobilize a prayer covering over every secondary school in the nation, they responded with much affirmation, which encouraged me greatly regarding one of my primary ministry thrusts of the next year.
• The National Day of Prayer is, by presidential proclamation, held on the first Thursday of May each year. There are thousands of local and regional gatherings around the country; additionally, there is a national event on Capitol Hill. We have attended quite a few of these over the years, and to be honest, at times they have tilted further to the political right than I would like. However, that was certainly not the case this year. The 3-hour program this year, with a theme of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” was apolitical and spiritually powerful, as was the reception the night before. We were greatly encouraged to hear about how God is working within our government, and to pray with and for those who serve there. Joni Erickson Tada was the honorary chairperson and spoke powerfully at both events.
•We also had the opportunity to go to Israel – at least in a legal sense. The NPC was invited to attend the tenth annual Israel Solidarity Event at the Israeli Embassy in DC. So for a few hours we were literally standing on Israeli territory. Being at the Solidarity Event was a profound privilege for us both.
Michael Orem, the Israel Ambassador to the US, was one of the speakers, and his eloquent explanation of the pressures and challenges that Israel is facing today was a jaw-dropping eye-opener for me. While I have known for some time of the biblical mandate to support Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem, this event was a wake-up call for me personally to take that mandate more seriously. Mark Rutland, the president of Oral Roberts University, powerfully drove home the theology behind that mandate. We were also pleasantly surprised to hear about how much the nation of Israel appreciates the support of Christians! This Solidarity Event, which was also attended by leaders from many pro-Israel Christian ministries from around the country, was in part an expression of that appreciation.
Regarding the seriousness of the times that I mentioned earlier: normalcy bias (a relatively new term to me) is defined as the phenomenon of disbelieving one's situation when faced with grave and imminent danger and/or catastrophe. While (like you) I did not believe that May 21 was Judgment Day, as radio preacher Harold Camping announced on the radio and billboards across the country, I do believe that there is widespread normalcy bias in our communities and nation regarding a number of issues that I will unpack in subsequent issues of sondancing. Some of the issues – prayer and fatherlessness, for example – are obvious sondance passions, but there are also others that warrant some consideration.
One more housekeeping item . . . this newsletter is now published primarily in digital format (distributed via email) 7-8 times a year, and in paper format (conventional mail, which is also our delivery method for response/giving envelopes) 3-4 times in year. Since sondance is funded by God through the generous donations of our readers and supporters, delivery of the envelope is important to us – all the more so in this economy where donations to nonprofits (ours included) have plummeted. We are sending this issue out in both printed and digital format for the last time. If you receive only one version, that means we are missing either your mailing address or your email address. Please help us out and supply the address that is lacking by sending it to: mikehiggs@integrity.com. Thank you!
No comments:
Post a Comment