Out of all of the things that has surprised me the most with Checkpoint Church, the way that this community prays is astounding to me. I've always been a very private pray-er in my walk with Christ. I would hide behind boisterous singsong prayers in my Youth Group because I didn't often share my intimate prayer methods with others. I'm not quite a 'Daddy God' trope, but I'm closer to that than I am to the rote prayers of some of my peers.
There was a study I was reading recently that the current upcoming generation is more in tune with prayer than they are with a higher power in general. This fascinates me - we are raising the future who are very aware of the power of prayer without knowing the power of a loving Creator. But that's a message for another time.
If you've never taken the time to join our Discord and peruse 'Let's Get Spiritual,' you're missing out on the baffling self-sacrifice and humility taking place in those digital walls. We have a very active #Prayer-Requests channel that has been one of our best used channels since our inception. Most recently, we have a member of our community who has been carefully crafting custom-fit prayers for scenarios that others are sharing and requesting prayer for. This has humbled me and inspired me. With the natural reaction of the capital C Church to cast off digital church, I've seen how and why the younger generation is flocking to prayer. It's powerful. It's humbling. It's authentic. I've seen more honest prayers on our digital church platform than in my entire life in the established church.
With that in mind, I covet your prayers this week. Tomorrow, I go before the Board of Ordained Ministry for my continuance in Provisional Elder's orders in the United Methodist Church. For those outside of our nuanced system, this is essentially an ongoing discernment process to work through my fitness and aptitude for ministry in the UMC. I'd ask your prayers for God to continue to use my hands, feet, and heart in whatever way God wills in this calling. May it be so.
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