David's Mighty Men

I'm reading through 1 Chronicles and came to a cool part today. 1 Chronicles 11:9 says that David became increasingly powerful 'because the Lord Almighty was with him'. But then, the very next verse is the prologue to a long list of men. V. 10 says "These were the chiefs of David's mighty men - they, together with all Israel, gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the Lord had promised." (emphasis mine).

Now, I am not David, and I'm not a King and PCC is not Israel. But I do think there is an important correlation here. Why wouldn't v.9 stand on it's own? Isn't the Lord Almighty enough? Certainly from many perspectives, He is. But v. 10 (and the rest of chapter 11) completes the picture and illustrates an important truth: God uses key people to support the leader so that the fullness of the Movement is accomplished. God put the mighty men under David's leadership, and they were a major factor in his success. To go further, he probably wouldn't have been successful without them.

So, I started thinking about the short history of our church and the moment that exists for us right now. Whether we were facing calm waters or stormy seas, there has been a growing group of strong, steady people who have supported me. They aren't blindly following - many of them have disagreed and debated and even admonished me. But mostly they just loved me, loved our mission, and their support has never wavered - even when they disagreed with some decision.

Many of the people reading this blog are these folks. During these past few weeks, you've gone out of your way to voice your steadfast determination for the success of our church and for me. Your fervent prayers, encouraging notes, powerful stories, and gentle reminders have meant more to me than you will ever know. The visible support from last Tuesday's meeting, too, was defining.

Chronicles isn't just a history of the Israelites...it's more than that. It's a lesson on how movements succeed and how they stumble. It's a teaching on what causes leadership to succeed, and what makes it fail. David had his mighty men and for a long time, Israel soared.

We are still soaring. And God is using you to make it happen. Thank you for standing beside me and our church through thick and thin. God is working through you in ways you will never know.