The countdown is on.  We are 1 week from gathering for Houston’s National Day of Prayer.

With the recent ruling by a federal judge in Wisconsin that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, it is more important than ever that we stand for God in the public square. I am asking you to help lead the charge for this event.  

Please help support the National Day of Prayer in the following ways:

1.   STAND UP -- Publicly rally your congregation to attend the National Day of Prayer at City Hall (900 Bagby), Thursday May 6th at noon by talking about the event in your services making special emphasis this Sunday.

2.   GET THE WORD OUT — to everyone in your contact list, church list, ministry list, personal list.

3.   SHOW UP -- Make plans to personally join other pastors and ministry leaders from around the city on the platform at the event.

I believe our efforts during the next week could make this the most attended and impacting National Day of Prayer Event in Houston history.  Now is the time to concentrate all our efforts on this important “showing up” time.  I’m looking forward to seeing all of you and praying together with the Body of Christ in Houston.

In Him,

Steve Riggle - Senior Pastor

Grace Community Church 

DATE:  Thursday, May 6

TIME:  12:00 Noon

LOCATION:  Houston City Hall, 901 Bagby

Directions to City Hall Parking Garage (511 Rusk Street) taking I-45:

From North – toward downtown exit 47C on the left and merge onto McKinney Street; turn left on Bagby Street (follow white NDP parking garage signs); go 1 block to Rusk Street and take a right; park in Garage #2.

From South – toward downtown exit 47B for Memorial Drive; slight right on Rusk Street; stay on Rusk Street (follow white NDP parking signs) and park in Garage #2 on the right. 

In my last commentary I wrote about the tragic death of Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old Massachusetts girl who hanged herself after months of relentless and cruel bullying. In that article, I addressed the mass indifference to Phoebe’s persecution, in which no one appeared willing to come to her defense or stand in opposition to her tormentors. I referred to this as the “cowardice of noncompassion.”

Recently, I have encountered another kind of cowardice of noncompassion within the church, which hinders the church’s mission and undermines our witness in the world.

A young couple was having marital problems. Within their first year of marriage, the wife had moved out of the home in the wake of her husband’s persistent drinking. Both were professing Christians and therefore they sought counsel—with the goal of reconciliation—from their church. This is a large church—technically a megachurch—with abundant resources, so they were confident they would receive the help they needed. But they didn’t. Instead they entered the bureaucracy of what may be more accurately described as a “social corporation” than a church. Sure, the people were kind, even tried to be accommodating, but the organizational structure (and emphasis) of this church, like so many others, simply didn’t allow for the kind of intimate involvement that the bearing of one another’s burdens and the law of Christ demands (see Galatians 6:2).