There is no accomplishing of anything unless God shows up in our midst.

The scriptures speak of God’s presence being a huge factor in the Gospel and Acts accounts when it came to the strong works of God occurring. “God’s Spirit was present to heal” is a recurring verse. God alone can accomplish what God can accomplish. Our part? To continue to show up!

As we show up in faithfulness and don’t give up, God shows up to provide the love only he can provide.

We live in the atmosphere of step-by-step relationship with Jesus. The fire of his life in our bellies keeps us in sync – not just with him but with all he loves and celebrates. Above all else, he celebrates people.

There is no progress on earth without his people loving what he loves, without his people loving those he loves.

Try this on for size: when we begin to struggle with those different than us - those challenging to us because they are ‘irregular’ to us - that is the sign it is high time to ‘Give up’ trying.

Prayer is for those who have no second plan. Prayer is THE plan. The process? We grow steadily to rely upon God’s presence – and prayer the communication pipeline for communication.

To all the irregulars – as the theologian Bob Barker would say, “Come on down!”

Paul, the grand-daddy of launchers, summarized life in this simple phrase above – ‘To live is Christ…’ He continues with that thought, but that beginning point is enough for now.

In order to live a life of meaning when involved in the start-up of a new church or new work of any sort, we need to be in the trench mindset. When we are in that mindset, all hokey pokey theory flies out the window pretty quickly. As with that famous fifth grade P.E. dance, you either put your ‘Right foot in’ or you don’t! You obey or you resist. Life is meant to be lived as a ‘Yes’ response, one after the other.

To resist the life of ‘Yes’ in prayer is to fight the flow of the invitation of God’s Spirit to us. That sort of spiritual play is something one may get away with when not in the middle of the kind of spiritual turmoil involved in the launching of churches. When in the thick of spiritual conflict with lives on the line, this is not the case. To resist obedience to the invitations of God is about the same as trying to sprint with an efficient parachute pulling behind us.

I have discovered it is soon after a couple starts to connect with those in a new city that the ‘Hokey Pokey’ dance begins to begin. Beliefs we have espoused are put to the test. Those tests occur in the form in one way only and always – people!

Irregular people show up in our lives. They are custom-designed and sent by God to cause you and me discomfort. This is the sort of people-pain that can only be relieved by a running conversation with God.

‘As we go, pray…’ This is the hooky pokey that works.

As a spouse and partner in ministry, my number one priority is to protect the integrity of what God is building / has built in our midst. That is, I protect my spouse. More than my children even, I protect my spouse.

So it is with spouses in ministry.

Though the film is not necessarily fully recommendable, Mr. and Mrs. Smith has some decent imagery that is fitting here. This couple have their differences (and how!) but they work things out and ultimately figure out how they fit in sync. They become an amazing team, back to back. They become a nearly unstoppable force. Against all odds they fend off the bad guys (we all have our fair share if not more). They discover the truth of Eccl.4:9-12 - ‘A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.’ In this case, each in the marriage is a cord, and God’s ever-present Spirit is the third.

We don’t know how to pray as we ought the scriptures say. With that truth as the starting point we can launch into the depths of intimacy with God, one another, and effectiveness like we have only imagined thus far.

Did you realize that the wives of pastors - especially those where there is no other staff - are finding it increasingly difficult to attain life insurance? Why so? Statistics indicate pastor’s wives have shorter life spans than women in the general population. I’d like to see a “Pastor’s Wife” “Review of a Week” camera to show outsiders a taste of the stress spouses in ministry experience. The greatest stress lies in the emotional-spiritual realm. It’s found in the prayers directed at spouses. You’ve heard them - “Show _____ that she is to _____ and show her now!”

What’s a woman to do?

Deflect - Don’t Resist!

I say, ‘Deflect the onslaught.’

The matters we face as leaders - when God’s momentum is upon our lives - are spiritually based. We cannot take such forces on without being burned, wiped out, weakened or even ultimately taken out permanently. Lord, teach us to pray more effectively. To do battle with such forces in human strength leads to - well, insurance statistics!

What was my personal site (SteveSjogren.com) has become a coaching site for pastors and launchers. Some want to know what’s going on with Janie and me - why? I’m not sure. Guess some still don’t have cable.

Seriously Janie has much to say but has not had a consistent platform for ‘exporting’ even a fraction of the great insights she has picked up.

Welcome to something new, exciting and life-giving!