9 Reasons Why Church Leaders Struggle with Prayer

John, a leader in a church I assisted as a consultant, admitted to me what I’d heard before from seminary students and church leaders alike: “Dr. Lawless, I don’t always pray like I should. I know better, but prayer isn’t easy.” I’ve heard something similar so many times that I’ve begun asking for more details. These findings are anecdotal, but here are my general conclusions about why church leaders struggle with prayer.

1. Leaders are “fixers” by nature. Most leaders don’t readily admit a need for help. Instead, we are problem solvers who seek solutions, attempt answers, and try again if the first answer doesn’t work. Indeed, our followers expect leaders to come up with solutions. Our persistence and tenacity to do so – both good traits in themselves – sometimes push prayer to a last resort option.
2. We never learned how to pray.  Churches make this mistake with most spiritual disciplines: we tell believers what to do, but don’t teach them how to do it. “Pray. Pray. You must pray,” we proclaim. When we tell but don’t teach, though, we set believers up for discouragement and failure. If leaders are honest, we’ll admit that we, too, have much to learn about how to pray.
3. Prayer has become more about ritual than about relationship. This reason relates directly to the previous one. We know we should pray, even if we don’t know how, so we go through the motions of prayer. It is not a relationship with a living Lord that calls us to prayer; it is instead only religious ritual. Ritual seldom leads to a consistent, vibrant prayer life.
4. Prayerlessness can be hidden.  No one in our church needs to know about this struggle. We can talk about prayer, teach about prayer, write about prayer, and even lead corporately in prayer – all without anyone knowing that personal prayer is sporadic at best. This kind of hiddenness is an enemy of heartfelt prayer.
5. We don’t really believe prayer works. Sure, we teach otherwise about prayer. No church leader I know would teach that prayer is ineffective. Nevertheless, our prayer life often suggests otherwise. Sometimes we don’t pray at all. When we do pray, we’re too often surprised when God does respond. Surprise is one indicator we’re not convinced about the power of prayer.
6. We have never been broken under God’s hand. The apostle Paul, who was a leader extraordinaire, learned the power of strength in weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Faced with a thorn in the flesh, he pleaded with God to remove it. God instead sovereignly used the thorn to weaken the apostle, who experienced God’s strength at his weakest moments. It is in our weakness that we learn how to pray, but leaders naturally fight against weakness.
7. Leaders read the Word in a one-sided way. Leaders are often teachers who read the Word for information transmission more than life transformation. When we approach the Word that way, we miss the opportunity to be in dialogue with God. Our Bible reading – even when preparing for teaching or preaching – should bring us to praise, confession, and obedience. It should lead us into prayerful conversation with God.
8. Some leaders have simply lost hope. It happens. Church leaders who prayed more consistently in the past sometimes lose hope under the weight of church conflict, family struggles, or health concerns. Unanswered prayer leads to faithlessness, which leads to prayerlessness.
9. We miss the gospel focus on the prayer life of Jesus. I love the four Gospels, but I admit to reading them for many years without meditating on Jesus’ prayer life. A seminary professor challenged me to read the Gospel of Luke with this focus in mind, and my prayer life has never been the same.

In fact, church leader, I give you that same challenge. In your quiet time this week, read these texts. Note how Jesus prayed. Listen to His teachings. Think deeply about the Word. Then, respond to Him in prayer. Take the first step toward being a praying church leader.

                                                                                                                               -By Chuck Lawless

Making the Christmas Message Stick for Teens

 The story of Christmas is a familiar one to teens. Knowing the story of Jesus' birth is life-changing--so how do we make the Christmas message "stick" in their hearts and minds? Here are some ideas:

1. Make It Real. When sharing the Christmas message, talk about how Jesus' birth and life impacts students' lives in the here and now. The core message of Christmas and Jesus' birth is summed up in the word Immanuel, which means God is with us. How many teens have sung songs and heard that word repeated but missed the meaning? God is with us means that we have access to a relationship with Jesus now. God is present here on earth. Because of Jesus, we can have a real relationship with the creator of the universe!

2. Be Experiential. Teens disengage when we "preach" to them. They don't want to sit for 45 minutes and listen to you communicate information. They learn best when you use a hands-on, experiential approach to learning. Try out the following examples and discover more. Use true-life illustrations for interactive studies, explore story telling strategies, employ role-play activities in small groups sessions that drive home truths from the Christmas story. Always think of ways to add fun, hands-on activities to help drive home the point. Teens will be more engaged, making the message "stick."

3. Reach Out. Teens can get caught up in the consumerism of Christmas, which creates an "all about me" attitude. Adolescents learn best by doing, and jump at the chance to make a difference. So give them the opportunity to reach out to those in your community.

Some ideas:

Give up a gift they receive this Christmas and instead give it to a child in need. Volunteer at a local food shelter. Volunteer to wrap gifts at the mall during the busy shopping season.
Volunteer in a neighborhood sanitation exercise. Mobilize a charity visit to a remand home in the community.

Allow teens to be a part of the planning process, and ask them for ideas of how to serve the community. The more they are involved in the planning, the more of an impact the experience will have on them.

How Does a Church Become a Family? -by Brady Boyd

It takes a long time to become old friends. It cannot be rushed, programmed, or forced. It simply takes time. Ever wondered how does a church become a family assembly instead of a gathering of strangers? What is the ground that must be plowed in order for family roots to take hold and ultimately blossom in the local church?

1. Families know how to disagree: This does not sound warm and fuzzy, does it? But it’s true. Healthy families have learned to honorably disagree and to defend the unity that is so critical for the long-term strength of the home. I see people every week that have disagreed with me but have decided to persevere and forge a friendship despite our differences. This is why I believe church families and marriages are so similar. No one can stay married if they always need to be right. Great marriages and great church families have learned to love while they are fussing and are quick to offer forgiveness and grace.

2. Families celebrate and mourn with one another: Healthy families embrace the rhythms of each other’s lives, rejoicing when the others are rejoicing and mourning when the others are sad. The new convert who had just been placed in hospice because of cancer and needs succor and strength of others. A despondent single mom who needs prayer and support for her prodigal son; a sweet grandmother whose daughter, son-in-law, and all their children had just decided to follow Jesus. She had prayed for them for 13 years. We bond when we share the pains and joys of others in Church. That is family.

3. Families make room for new arrivals: When babies are born, the family celebrates the new arrival. No one is sad because more room has to be made at the dinner table. The same is true with healthy church families. They are always ready to welcome the new arrivals at the table. Church get large church and it can be overwhelming at times to walk into a big building full of strange faces. But it is also true that if I simply give it time, people will embrace me if I make room for the embrace.

4. Families serve one another: Healthy church families are keenly aware of the needs all around them. In the early church, it was said, “there were no needy persons among them.” (Acts 4:34) What a beautiful picture of family surrounding each other, embracing the broken, and giving generously so that everyone has an advocate and hope. It is refreshing and rewarding to belong to a family that can disagree and still love, celebrates and mourns with each other, makes room for the new arrivals, and is quick to serve and bless. That is a growing family.
                                                                                                                                       -Edited by Dotun Akinsulire

The Inexcusability of Ignorance

Ignorance is not inaccessibility to knowledge; it is rather the willful or unwitting denial or rejection of knowledge. It is a function of ignoring the truth.

Literally the word 'Ignorance' is rooted in the French Ignore or the Latin variant ignorantia- which implies, not aware or not acquainted. The verb derivation ' ignore' suggest an act 'not to know' which gives a sense of disregard or not paying attention.

In biblical parlance- when God said "my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6), He was not referring to a nebulous state of mind but a flagrant refusal to embrace the truth. Israelites practically shut their hearts to know the truth by ridiculing and persecuting their prophets and rejecting divine instructions.

Romans 1:19-20 gives us some insight into the inexcusability of ignorance. " For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them. For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiwork). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification],"


Today the postmodern revolution of information and communication, the impact of globalization riding on the instrumentality of the new media, and the paradigm shift in the constructs of the traditional media leave no room for the excuse of ignorance. 

We are in the age where the increase of knowledge is as the waters cover the sea. These premises brings a whole new perspective to the definition of ‘ignorance’. Ignorance is inexcusable. If you are ignorant it is because you chose to be. 

The Principle of the Path

Many times, we do have lofty ideas of where want to get to. Mentally, we can paint a very captivating picture of our life destination. However, we know that great intentions captured in beautiful imaginations do not transport us to our preferred future. Life is a journey, path, not intent, determines destination.

Imagination is great. We need it to put our intentions in perspective and perhaps to help in mapping out the journey. But think about it. No matter your dreams, your vision, your hopes or your good intentions…the path you’re on absolutely determines the destination.

We want to be great, we want to be known to be achievers of great things. We harbor impressive thoughts of how great we would become and what great stories will track our life-trail. Fantastic! But before we get on a roller-coaster ride to nowhere, we must ask the reflective question, " will the part we are on, lead to our preferred destination?"

Our best intentions– to become great and achieve great feats– would not matter; if the path we are on don’t lead to the preferred destination.

Forget about your dreams, your vision, your hopes, your intentions. Does the path you’re on actually lead to where you’d like to go?