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My Prayer for the Arkansas State Senate

This afternoon, I offered the opening prayer at the start of the legislative session for the Arkansas State Senate at the Capitol. Several weeks ago I was asked to do so by Arkansas State Senator Joyce Elliot (D), a member of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and current Majority Whip. It was an honor to be introduced by Senator Elliot as one who left a "cushy" job to establish a church for all people, in an impoverished area of the city of Little Rock, and as one not content to build bridges to the community, but to become the community; as one seeking to right the concern of Dr. Martin Luther King that eleven o'clock on Sunday morning is the most segrgeated hour of the week.

Here's, then, is what I prayed today for our state's leaders: 

"God in heaven, sovereign Lord and Spirit, Creator of all things, and of every nation, tribe, people and tongue upon the earth, we bless you this day.  

"On behalf of these chosen men and women of the senate, your servants and ours, I humbly request Your divine guidance and wisdom this day as they seek to lead the people of the Great State of Arkansas according to Your will, and the will of the people: toward prosperity and out of poverty; from sickness into health; from injustice, to justice; illiteracy to education; from homelessness to housing; from joblessness to employment; from racism to gracism; and from the life we know to a better one in and through which all people in this state are blessed.

"We thank you for your past favor upon our state, your present favor in the midst of hard times and pray that soon in the future, these conditions will end with the hope of full recovery and the promise of provision. As they serve, may they not so much look out for their own interests, but also for the interests of others; and like Solomon of old, discern wisely.

"With these things in mind, I pray 'The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.' Amen."

From the Midst of Suffering in Christchurch, NZ

                

Twice, in the past three years, I have traveled to Australia and New Zealand advancing the cause of the multi-ethnic church throughout the region. In fact, in 2008, I spoke at Christchurch Chinese Church, a vibrant multi-ethnic church in Christchurch and conducted a seminar at the Bible College of New Zealand (now called Laidlaw College). Then in 2009, I returned to Christchurch with Kiwis Max Palmer (Mosaix' representative in the country, 3rd from the left in picture above) and David Boyd (3rd from the right in picture above) to speak at the first Multi-ethnic Church Conference in New Zealand, sponsored by Mosaix.

New Zealand is a beautiful country with beautiful people from many nations living and working there, making it ripe for building healthy multi-ethnic churches for the sake of the Gospel. And pastors, my friends there, are doing just that ... which is why, for this reason and many more, I am asking you to join me in prayerful support of our multi-ethnic brothers and sisters in Christchurch at this time. They are now confronting a tragic loss of life and devestation. Just a day ago, Max Palmer, himself, told me that the 6.3 earthquake that rocked Christchurch is the "biggest natural, peacetime, disaster ever to hit the country." The people there are in shock, grieving the loss of life and sacred space (i.e., Christchurch Cathedral, an icon of the country).

As of this writing, I am working to connect via Skype with pastors from Christchurch tomorrow (Thursday, February 24) on my radio show, beginning at 1p Eastertn, 10a Pacific. Please tune in live to show your support and learn more from these multi-ethnic church pastors ministering on the ground in Christchurch.

Dr. Mark DeYmaz is the founding pastor of Mosaic Church in Little Rock and Executive Director of the Mosaix Global Network. A recognized leader in the multi-ethnic church movement, Mark is the author of two books: Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church, and Ethnic Blends: Mixing Diversity Into Your Local Church. He is a contributing editor for Leadership and also for Outreach Magazine in which his column, Ethnic Blends, appears in each issue.