May-31 Fresh Start

We had a zoom call at the end of May. These notes summarise our discussions.

The Holy Spirit is speaking to SoHOP about a “fresh start”. Our assignment remains the same, but there may be new ways to implement it.

1. Summary of our assignment.

• keeping watch

  • for our own daily rhythm with Jesus

  • for the church and leaders especially as they transition into the changes that God has ordained for the church at this time.

  • for the city. Remembering that we are not solely responsible for watching for the city, but to join with all those called to pray. The prayer lines are an important manifestation of this, a daily prayer together for the city, and as time goes by, people from beyond the community joining us.

• holding the line – it’s like another way of saying keeping watch, but with an emphasis on occupying the spiritual territory that Jesus wants to advance into.

  • each of us in SoHOP are in different places, with different tasks before us, but together we continue to stand and hold the land, by faith, that God has called us to occupy.

  • we hold to the things we are believing God for – a transformation of the church, a new awakening in our city and our nation.

2. How does “fresh start” speak into our assignment?

• Fresh start implies

  • leaving behind disappointments

  • renewed understanding of our vision and calling

  • renewed focus, energy and commitment

  • possible changes what we do and/or how we do it

  • a new awareness of SoHOP beyond our existing community

• It is timely that Pete Grieg very recently posted about “detach” – saying that leaders and organisations right across the church need to resign from loyalty to old structures in order to move into what God is now doing.

• Potter and clay. Ros shard about the potter and the clay. We are the clay in God’s hands. He is putting us back on the potter’s wheel, being re-shaped for the “new normal”. God’s purpose for the SoHOP community is that we are his vessel, filled with the Spirit and poured out on the city to bless and help the church. He is the potter. We submit to Him.

• Sandra has been reading the letters from Jesus in Revelation with her church. The overall message is “how serious am I about this?”. Fasting is highly recommended at this time, to help us hear what the Spirit is saying.

• Weston Shore – Elaine and Sally have been prompted to go and pray there.

3. A season of discernment

We are in a fresh season of discernment. We are especially listening to God for what he is saying. A great tool for this is the prayer of indifference

• Prayer of indifference – this is where we pray “not my will but yours be done Lord”.

• We lay down the things that we find most important to us about what we have been doing, and allow the Holy Spirit to commission us afresh to pick them up, or leave us free to pick up other things now.

• On the call we were in smaller groups and composed our own prayers of indifference.

• Keep going with this over the next week. You may want to journal your own prayer of indifference to really lay everything down.