Jamie Price
The Uprising - Arise
An uprising will cost you something. But if you see something that you know needs changing, then you need to something about it!
"Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act." Ezra 10:4
What is an uprising? According to the dictionary, the verb is defined as to rise up; get up, as from lying or sitting posture. No one ever advanced forward by lying down!
For the past 12 months of my life, I have been navigating and working through two significant changes in my life – I have started a new job and have become a dad for the first time, both of which are great challenges in their own right!
As a Dad, I find myself doing new things that I have never done before. I love my little boy more than most things, however, there are times when in my character and nature I find it difficult to give him exactly what he needs and wants.
In the middle of the night, when I am half asleep, getting up and changing a nappy, feeding him, rocking him back to sleep, whilst always trying to keep my patience is not always an easy task!
All I want to be in asleep in my bed, but I know that I have a choice to make – either get up, rise up and get him what he needs – or lay in my bed and hope that he will stop crying (or, as I have done a couple of times to my shame, pretend that I am asleep so that my wife will get up instead!).
Rising up and taking action is usually a choice to make – either we step into it or pretend that something isn’t happening and try and ignore it – I know which one God honours more!!
Twelve months ago I left a church and job I loved to come and work with LIMITLESS, in a project which I really believe in. I am working with churches that currently do not have a youth work, to help pioneer and establish new youth ministries in these churches. I am involved in school’s work, training teams and establishing mid-week groups which local young people can engage with.
We have, through the work of LIMITLESS Pioneers, seen 8 new youth groups established, with many more planned and being looked at for the future – something which is super exciting. However, all of the churches that we work with have had to take a stand, rise up and do something about a problem that they saw in their local church.
Ultimately, if the church didn’t decide to do something about the fact that there were little to no young people connecting with them, they would at some point cease to be a church, as no one would be coming through to take the church into the next season.
Each of the churches that we have worked with to pioneer new youth work has invested time, money, people and energy into establishing youth work in the church, as they recognise the importance of doing something about a problem that they see.
I know that as a result of these churches stepping out in faith, God has worked in and through these churches so that now they are all further on the journey in terms of connecting with young people in the local area.
An uprising will cost you something – it might be time, money, status, friends, your entire life. However, if you see something that you know needs changing, something that you can’t get out of your head, something that you realise you can do something about, then you need to do exactly that, do something about it!
I heard a quote recently from someone which said – “what you tolerate you will never change” … What have you been tolerating for too long? What do you know that you need to do something about but haven’t? Where do you need to rise up, stand up and be counted?
THIS IS THE UPRISING.
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