Keep Praying for Minneapolis

Last week was a proud moment – and I wanted to post a short clip of it (see below). After church got out, Carolyn and I joined a few hundred pastors outside the Hennepin County Courthouse to pray over the upcoming trials related to George Floyd.

Many of you know that our Minneapolis campus is only a short path north of where George died – and an equal distance from the courthouse where the trial is about to start. And even though we had to board up our building at times to keep it safe, we haven’t boarded up our hearts. Indeed, we’ve stepped up our outreaches. And we now meet the practical needs of thousands of people each week.

But, honestly, it’s been very hard trying to lead a church like ours through this. And it’s sad to see our downtown filled with barricades, razor-wire and chaos. Even as we drove to this prayer event, protesters stepped in front of my car during a green light to block traffic. (In fact, I almost accidentally hit one). And as if my adrenaline couldn’t get any higher, I saw an older man get assaulted. Yet nobody was stepping up to help him. For a moment, I felt helpless, like… the city was descending into chaos. It felt like everybody was there to make a point instead of make a difference. And I kept asking God: “How am I supposed to lead under these circumstances?” It felt like the pain of our city was spilling all over the place.

However, when prayer began, it felt like the chaos slowly started fading. As one speaker at the rally put it, “there’s a difference between protesting and prayertesting.” It reminded me that there’s only one solution, one Prince of Peace. And as we extended our hands towards the courthouse, I finally started feeling peace again.

But I’m sharing this because, our city needs your help. To all my friends around the world, continue praying for our city as the trial moves forward. And continue volunteering at Manna Market and Love this City. God gave us property in downtown so that we could be a thermostat – not a thermometer. And in a world that only transmits pain; pray that we can transform it. Make sense?

Love you guys!