Sowing for a great awakening requires a rethinking of how we lead. Many of us have been trained under leadership principles that bear much greater resemblance to Jack Welch and Simon Sinek than to Jesus and the disciples. Not that these have been altogether bad ideas. It can be a good and productive thing to cast vision, establish strategic plans, get buy-in, set metrics, and forge ahead. Many churches and ministry organizations have been run this way for decades across the American Christian movement. And we have right now in our homes and communities what that kind of leadership culture, shoehorned into the kingdom of God, produces: a culture still in free-fall and a church still weak to face the challenge of our day.

Awakening is led differently, and much more simply and vulnerably. Observe and respond. Consecration over preparation. Walking the narrow ridgeline. Having an eye for the small, and supporting every shoot. Leading from a plurality, beside or behind an emerging leader anytime we can. These are ideas we want to explore together here in this and other booklets in this series, beginning with the primacy of prayer.

Find the embers of prayer

Gather them, join them, elevate them, and fan their flame
In the Second Great Awakening, when Charles Finney would enter a town, the first thing he would do was ask, “Who are the praying people in this place?” And that’s the crucial question of the awakening leader. “Who are the intercessors here? Who still carries the burden of prayer?” They may only be a remnant, perhaps burning down at only the pilot light level of faith. They are often outside of the spotlight. But they are likely still around. Beyond your own heart, your first move for developing leadership culture for awakening is to find those who will petition God with you. These are the people who are crying when the world is laughing, those who are burdened while others are at ease. You need men and women, if only one or two, who know that any kingdom mission that does not demand prayer is not the mission of God. It is only the mission of people attempting the things of God.

If you will gather the intercessors together with you, those embers collected into a fire ring will each burn more brightly and together can create a spark of spiritual movement. We often say that prayer is not the only thing we do to sow for a great awakening. But it is the first thing, and the most important thing. How you gather and join praying people and prioritize time with them will fan their flame. Together, you can unite in crying out to God for an outpouring of the Spirit of prayer in your church. Read together the booklet in the Awakening Library series on How to Pray for Awakening. Preach on prayer. Open up additional space in worship for lingering in prayer. And above all, give yourself to prayer.

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