When Good Friends Pray Together 

Thomas Edison said once, “I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.” That’s the way I feel about the 6 men I serve alongside as elders of our church. Many of us have walked together for more than twenty years, and the weekly meetings for prayer and discussion on Sunday morning are a highlight of my week. We meet together almost every Sunday for two hours before the service starts because we know that we need the Lord’s help to love the body well and to walk together as those who agree. The seven of us are different in many ways, from professions to personalities, but God has made us one.  

This past weekend was our annual Elders’ Retreat, which has traditionally been spent with our wives in the mountains at a conference center. Until last year when, because of icy roads in Black Mountain, we called an audible and met at one of our elders’ homes in town. This year, because of last year’s weather in the west, we booked a beach house on the Carolina coast. Who knew that the threat of a “major” snow and ice event would force us to pivot again to another of our elders’ homes? It was a wonderful day and a half together. 

When we gather for these retreats, the purpose is to build our relationships, assess the past year’s joys and challenges, and seek the Lord’s wisdom for the year ahead. One of the elders started the retreat with a few icebreakers. “Would you rather lead worship without any sheet music or preach a sermon without any notes?” Lots of laughter on that one. The second question was, “Would you rather debate theology or hear someone’s life story?” I was surprised at the number of theologians in our group who are ready to rumble! By the way, I recommend Jen Wilkin’s book, You Are a Theologian. She builds the case that if theology is the study of God, all who belong to Him are theologians, growing in our understanding of who God is and what He has said to us in His word. If the most important thing about us is what we think about God, the pursuit to truly know Him is primary in our lives.   

The ice breaker questions were followed by devotions and worship and a time of prayer. 

The rest of the retreat, when we weren’t enjoying great food and fellowship, was spent discussing the health of our body, the needs of the saints, and the plans for taking care of the growth the church is enjoying. We are outgrowing our facility and asking the Lord for wisdom. As we consider whether He is leading us to merge with another church that has more space, or to add on to the building that we are in now, our posture is prayer and our ears are open to what the Lord will answer. Our history of nearly 39 years bears the marks of His handprints as the Lord has provided a place for us to gather from the time we started with fewer than 50 until today. We have been in the same building for 23 years, and it is the tenth place where we have gathered for worship. What were the words of the hymn? “All the way, my Savior leads me.” Yes, and He has been faithful to provide. As we talked and laughed and sometimes cried this weekend, we did so as friends whom God has called together to love and lead. 

I don’t know any kings, and I don’t think any of our elders or their wives wear overalls, but I wouldn’t trade our friendship for any of the world’s treasures.