Love Leiden

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!  (Psalm 133:1)

Monday evening I went to a prayer meeting called together by the pastor of International Church Leiden, my good friend Andy.  It was aimed at getting as many local church leaders together as possible to pray together for the city.  The premise was that if local leaders are praying together then we should start seeing some interesting things happen within the Church of Leiden as a whole.

Now ok, we didn’t get too much actual praying done, nor did we have very many church leaders turn up (2 actually, with three missionary workers), but nevertheless we did have a very encouraging meeting where the presence of God’s Spirit was evident.  Indeed it is noteworthy that there is very little inter-church contact amongst the church leaders in Leiden, and previous efforts to get this going were unsuccessful (to understate a little).  There is currently a group of the more traditional church leaders that meets, but reports are that the meetings are stuffy and that they discuss little other than their differences in dogma!  (Come on guys…?)

The most significant line of discussion was that it is not just desirable but essential to make firm efforts to get the pastors of the individual churches in Leiden together to meet, enjoy spending time together, and pray together.  During the meeting we recalled the story that Ed Silvoso tells of the ‘Church of Resistencia’ in Argentina (in his book ‘That None Should Perish’).  This book begins when the local leaders all meet together for breakfast and share communion.  This has a dramatic spiritual effect and is the beginning of a spiritual awakening of the church in Resistencia, largely outworked through everyday missional activities within the local society.

Here in Leiden there is now a visible sign that there is more emphasis on the need to be actively working in society.  There are several initiatives here in their early stages which offer practical help  (Serve the City, HiP – Help in Practice, and Stichting Present – the Present Foundation) with the idea to show the love of Christ through serving the local population through practical means.  What is still lacking is a clear sense of unity amongst the local leaders.

The outcome of the meeting was basically to carry on meeting and keep inviting local pastors.  We’re shifting to a morning spot so that leaders can attend more easily.  On the way home, one of the attendees, a missionary worker with The Navigators, had a visual picture from God.  As he drove through a village a lift bridge opened in front of him and he had to wait (unusual at 11pm!).  He felt God say to him, “Watch for the name of the boat that’s coming.”  He waited a while and then saw the name – Union.  He sensed that God was impressing to him that as we move forward towards union, God will open gates/doors/bridges.  What a tremendous sign of hope and encouragement!  Thank you God.

If you pray, please pray that we will get a growing number of local leaders to these meetings and that unity will grow in Leiden, rather than division.  There is a sense that things have been building up for that last few years in Leiden and that we are now on the brink of something.  This next step is crucial for tipping us over the edge.