Dear Houston River Family & Friends,
I am going to be a little selfish today, but not in a self-centered or prideful way. Bottom line: I need your prayers! Ministers and ministries need undergirding prayer. I need the prayers of those who know how to pray and what to pray for me.
I can probably trace all of my failures, fears, and shortcomings as a pastor to an absence of prayer in my life. I have not prayed enough, nor have asked others to pray with me enough times.
Years ago, I watched Dr. John Maxwell share a sermon entitled, "The Pastor's MVP - A Message to Encourage Prayer Partners for Pastors." I even played it for the church one Sunday night. As many of you know, MVP stands for Most Valuable Player.
You can go to YouTube or Vimeo and find Dr. Maxwell's MVP message. Just search for "The Pastor's MVP - A Message to Encourage Prayer Partners for Pastors." It is 45 minutes in length and is a little dated, but I promise you will not get bored.
Dr. Maxwell's point is that a pastor MUST have others in his church who are praying intentionally for him. Now I know many of you do pray for me. You have shared that with me throughout the years. I write this post today asking for more folks to become MVP Partners in Prayer with me.
The days ahead will be challenging. As our church rebuilds from hurricanes, recovers from Covid, and relaunches ministries, I face unique issues as I lead. Along with these are the expectations and pressures of pastoring, making it absolutely necessary for me to seek your prayers.
Even the apostle Paul knew the value of prayer partners. In Romans 15:30, he wrote, "I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf..."
Therefore, I am requesting for those who feel prompted by the Lord, to become my prayer partners.
I want to make it as simple as possible and will send out regular texts to my prayer partners. To become an MVP, you can email, call, or text me with your phone number, and I will text you my needs and concerns. Some weeks will have more texts than others, but I will let you know what my needs are so you can pray.
As always, it is a blessing to be your pastor. I want to lead and pastor better, so it will require changes in me. The catalyst for those changes will be your prayers.
My email is pastorhrbc@gmail.com. Have a blessed week.
Your Grateful Pastor,
Lonnie G.