There is a powerful dynamic set in motion when someone takes the first move.

It was Thursday afternoon, and I was on my way to a local bakery to pick up a box of goodies for a family I would visit that night. And, yes, I got one of their huge and unbelievably delicious chocolate chip cookies. There was light rain off and on, which was a nice break from the heat of our Georgia summer. Not enough to get you all wet, but just enough to make things slippery.

I was second in line in the right-hand lane of a four-lane road. It was a large and busy intersection—not the kind of road you would cross on foot. The light turned green for those making a left turn in front of us. One of those people had a pick-up load of about fifty or sixty 1 1/2 in. x 4 in. x 20 ft. pieces of lumber—it was a load of wood!—but his tailgate was down and the wood wasn’t tied in well.

In a second, as he was making the left turn, the wood sprayed across our side of the road. Everyone stopped and stared. The guy pulled over and ran out to start picking it up. Only a few, maybe thirty, seconds passed, but it seemed like slow motion. Everything in me said, get out of your car and help. But I was second in line, and couldn’t move my car.

A few cars in the lane next to mine drove slowly around or over the wood and carried on with their agendas. Then it happened—the passenger door of the car in front of me opened, and a boy in his late teens jumped out. His dad pulled the car over and got out with him. That’s all it took.

Then I pulled up and over and jumped out to pick up lumber. What took place next was so cool. Within ten seconds, another seven guys jumped out of their cars and started lifting and moving lumber off to the side of the road and back into this guy’s truck. No one knew each other but everyone knew exactly what to do. Two of the guys directed traffic. The lumber was heavy, so the guys worked in sets of two to lift the wet slippery wood.

Now, admittedly, this next part is a guy thing—no one ever said a word! There was a lot of eye contact and tremendous connection. When the wood was cleared and back in the truck (3 or 4 minutes, tops) everyone got back in their cars and drove off—silent, but tremendously satisfied and with plenty of testosterone pumping.

The power of the first move is incredible. We’ve all seen it in action, but I think leaders can forget to be intentional about making the first move.

Are you in a desperate circumstance and can’t see a way out? This devotional study from Kirk Hunt will encourage you and help you focus on Jesus.

The Story

²²And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet ²³and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” ²⁴So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him (Mark 5:22-24 NKJV).

Jairus put all of his religious doctrine into a scroll jar. He set his pride down on the kitchen shelf. Cloaked in humility and driven by distress, the pastor of the synagogue went to Jesus.

It’s amazing what a man will do for his sick child. He’ll put aside his political leanings. He’ll ignore denominational boundaries. He’ll even approach a backwoods carpenter-turned-preacher.

Jairus and his daughter’s need are real and urgent. Jesus agrees to come and heal the little girl. The crowd, looking for more spectacle and exhibitions of the miraculous, tags along.

Jairus, Jesus and the Disciples begin pushing through the crowded streets. Jairus must have ground his teeth at their slow progress. The crowd’s raw size and festival attitude formed one hindrance. Jesus’ willingness to minister on the way formed another. Still, he had to wait, while Jesus moved at His own speed.

³⁰And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” ³¹But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?'” (Mark 5:30-31 NKJV).

In the midst of the throng, a different soul, desperate for healing, touches Jesus. Her faith is so great that Jesus didn’t need to focus His attention on her. Healing power flows from Him to her at her believing contact.

Jesus stops the parade to address this unnamed woman’s enormous faith. Jairus stands by silent and stoned faced. I’m sure he meant the healed woman no ill, but his daughter remains sick and near death. This delay, even to teach belief and faith, stretches out the anguish of this man and father.

Even the Disciples are mystified at Jesus’ behavior. Perhaps they get the lesson later, but at that moment, they side with Jairus on the craziness of the situation. Still, Jesus stops and ministers.

More stalling. More delay. Disaster marches closer.

³⁵While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (Mark 5:35 NKJV).

Time has run out. The opportunity for the miraculous has passed. The need, that existed so urgently a few moments before, has vanished like smoke.

There seems to be a move by some Evangelicals to engage more effectively today’s culture and society. This has been building for some time. Neither do these appear to be isolated incidents. Several Evangelicals are moving in similar directions. “An Evangelical Manifesto: A Declaration of Evangelical Identity and Public Commitment” (see www.evangelicalmanifesto.com) is an especially significant example. First, several stalwart Evangelical leaders and thinkers, including Richard Mouw (Fuller Theological Seminary), Timothy George (Samford University), Dallas Willard (Southern California University), and others not only signed it but also helped shape it. Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, was one of the charter signatories. Other notable signatories include Kay Arthur, Stuart Briscoe, Leighton Ford, Justo Gonzalez, Mark Noll, and Alvin Plantinga. Pentecostals will notice names like Jack Hayford, Cheryl Bridges Johns, Mel Robeck, Amos Yong, and others. (I just now signed it myself, and I encourage others to do so too.)

Second, among other things, “An Evangelical Manifesto” enumerates concerns for political and social action, ecological awareness, and ecumenical openness and even interreligious engagement – all without sacrificing or apologizing for continuing commitment to historic Evangelical principles regarding Christ, the Bible, or the Church and its mission. Its tone is quite positive, though perhaps just a bit defensive at times, but overall well balanced. Most of all, it is an intelligent and articulate presentation of Evangelical concerns for a wider arena of issues than previously typical. Additionally, it steadfastly resists and repudiates attempts to stereotype Evangelicals, maintaining a firm grip on a moderate posture between reactionary fundamentalism and reductionist liberalism, viewing both as undesirable, avoidable extremes. These Evangelicals see themselves, though perhaps not as “mainline,” yet as moderates, that is, as members of a movement more in the middle rather than to the far left or far right. Significantly, “An Evangelical Manifesto” is biblically and theologically sound while being culturally engaged. The steering committee and participants are to be commended for courageous work of exceptional quality. (NPR also has an interview about this with Mouw that is interesting. See http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90252763.)

Interestingly, there appears to be an expanding and, at times, energetic move among some Pentecostals toward cultural and social engagement that gels well with “An Evangelical Manifesto”. For example, Jerry Redman has written persuasively on “A Theology of Social Action” (http://www.faithnews.cc/articles.cfm?sid=8827) designed for Evangelicals and Pentecostals. Furthermore, Fleming Rutledge, in “When God Disturbs the Peace” (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/june/13.30.html), has connected Pentecostal and Charismatic understandings of the supernatural dimension and spiritual deliverance with social dynamics. Internationally known Charismatic speaker and writer Cindy Jacobs’s emphasis on working to achieve social transformation through intercession and prophetic ministry (The Reformation Manifesto: Your Part in God’s Plan to Change Nations Today [Bethany House, 2008]) comes to mind as well. From a sociological standpoint, the significance of the move toward Pentecostal social engagement has been studied by Donald Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori in Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2007).

“An Evangelical Manifesto” is apparently an emphatic attempt to address contemporary concerns without abdicating traditional commitments. Likeminded Pentecostals can say “Amen!” Faith in Christ and life in the Spirit propels one beyond the borders of individual experience and interest into the wider arena of a needy if sometimes nasty world. Yet one does not forsake the former in favor of the other. Personal piety and social activity are, or ought to be, partners in Christ-centered, Spirit-filled living.