Rev. Gregory C. Nettles, 12th Episcopal District
“But we have this treasure in clay jars so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 (NRSV)
In their book We Have This Ministry-The Heart of the Pastor’s Vocation, Samuel D. Proctor and Gardner C. Taylor write about the importance of the pastor as an intercessor. One of the scriptures the Rev. Dr. Samuel Proctor uses is 2 Corinthians 4:7: Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:4-7 In his book Methodist Polity, written in 1884, Bishop Henry McNeal Turner asks a question: What is the church of Christ? The answer: the visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men and women, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly admonished, according to Christ’s ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.
The visible church coming together in a sacred place annually on April 13 invites the power of God through prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving to meet us corporately and individually. According to Bishop Turner, the visible church is “organization, faith in Christ our Savior, a living ministry; plans for perpetuation and ordinances of divine service. The church is visible as far only as men and women see it; it is invisible as it is known by God
The visible church is those we see, love, live with, and engage with daily. All who profess and call themselves Christians, having been baptized in the name of Christ, are members of the visible church, but only those who are sincere believers are members of the invisible church. Through prayer, the visible and invisible church, in a spirit of unity, invites God’s power to create an atmosphere of metamorphic change. Transfiguration takes place in the particular geographical area of impartation through prayer.
According to Bishop Turner, when the visible and invisible are linked and in cadence, they are known as “the Church Militant,” which is engaged in constant warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil, and in that respect, is distinguished from the “Church Triumphant” introduced in Ephesians 6:10-12. Our treasure in earthen vessels, I will describe as the Holy Spirit, which belongs to God, produces rejoicing or praise to God from the Word of God. While praying, we are in a position to receive; we are having a conversation with Almighty God. The “Church Triumphant,” those who have gone on before us, the great cloud of witnesses, and those whose robes have been washed in the blood of the Lamb are reminding us through the memory of how they made it over, through, and out!
Through prayer, those kneeling in St. George Methodist Episcopal Church received the power to walk out because of maltreatment from Christian folks. Their prayers of faith led them to start Bethel Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1787 and build it in 1793. The Rev. Richard Allen and fifteen men (with women who were not listed) believed power belongs to God. These are now, along with others, in the Church Triumphant, are the shoulders and soldiers we have stood on since April 11, 1816. The prayers of the visible and invisible church will sustain us until Jesus Christ’s return. Our prayers lead us to have the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding and will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. The power that comes from God through the power of the Holy Spirit will allow us to maintain and sustain during these perilous times of stress, trauma, and trials.
When we gather 206 years after the first General Conference, on April 13, we come with a spirit of expectancy and knowing the same God will meet us just as God met the group as they marched to Zion. So let us march to Zion on April 13, 2022, the Connectional Day of Prayer! Let us march on ‘til victory is won!
Rev. Gregory C. Nettles is the 12th Episcopal District and Sons of Allen District Coordinator and the pastor of Bethel AMEC, Camden, Arkansas.
