Inviting Jesus to Reside and Preside:
The Only Way to Heal a Church—and a Nation—
as Dangerously Divided as We Are Today
as Dangerously Divided as We Are Today
Most of us have been bombarded by many various political intrigues during this presidential campaign season—with all the strife and insults, party spirit and anger, suspicions and accusations.
However, have you noted how so much of the turmoil boils down to what Scripture calls “works of the flesh”—approaches to life (or politics) that can never produce the blessings of God’s kingdom (see Galatians 5:19-21) but only result in further divisions?
Sadly, many of our nation’s churches are witnessing similar battles that are dividing their congregations at a level not seen for decades—even generations.
Is there a way to turn back from this looming abyss?
Yes, there is!
Let me tell you about one church on the brink of splintering and how it finally turned around. I believe it holds the key to finding a way forward for God’s people in America and, by God’s grace, for the nation itself.
Actually, the key is quite simple. The solution is stated well in 1 Peter 3:15
(Amplified Version):
(Amplified Version):
“But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—
acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord.”
acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord.”
A Cry for Help at the Abyss!
Without going into the details, I once worked with a church undergoing a time of heightened tensions and increasing recriminations. There was a real threat of an unhealthy schism looming.
Feeling utter desperation, the leaders, divided as they were, humbled themselves enough to ask me to come one evening to meet with them to help them find a solution.
However, none of us were totally prepared for what happened that evening.
Let me tell you how I approached a situation that was already so fractious. (Incidentally, I’ve taken this same approach with many other groups, both before and since.)
To begin our time together, I took them through a brief Bible study on the supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is actively reigning right now at God’s right hand. I did so by drawing from a story in 2 Samuel 5:1-5. It is about how Israel’s tribal elders, divided over the royal succession after the death of King Saul (a political impasse!), finally reunited the nation. They did so by re-embracing and then re-anointing David as God’s chosen king—like a combination of an “election” and an “inauguration” on the same day.
Later that night, I highlighted parallel principles from that same passage of Scripture related to ways any disunited group—especially one divided over political disagreements—could experience a restoration to unity by how they respond to our King—Jesus, the greater son of David, the ultimate King of Glory. (I encourage you to study the passage for yourself).
Next, as the seventy leaders that night convened in the church sanctuary, I surprised them by hauling down the huge, gold-trimmed, red velvet pulpit chair from the main platform. I placed it at pew level, making it accessible to everyone.
I told them that the chair was intended to represent the Throne of Heaven where Jesus is reigning—since, by the Holy Spirit, we knew our Savior was reigning among us that night in that room.
Then, I invited all of them—elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, youth ministry staff, as well as the pastors—to come forward. I encouraged them to get close to each other as they surrounded this throne-looking structure. Once they had done so (in three concentric circles), I suggested that we linger like that, in silence and quiet worship before the King of kings—the Ruler of the rulers of the earth (Revelation 1:7), which makes him the President of all presidents!
Everyone became silent. What followed was unforgettable.
Little Children United Around the Throne
As they crowded shoulder to shoulder, I asked the seventy to “become like little children” as we acted out a drama based on the 2 Samuel 5 passage.
First, we knelt around the representative “throne,” as if bowing before a monarch as we assembled in his court.
Second, I suggested we envision Christ himself sitting and ruling on that very “throne” in our midst, knowing the truth always is that “Christ is among you,” as Paul puts it in Colossians 1:27. Or again, he reminds us, “Do you not know that Jesus Christ is among you—unless you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Third, I encouraged all of them (still play-acting the way innocent children do) to extend their hands until they touched some part of the throne or the shoulder of someone able to touch it. We were simply replicating how Christians often lay hands on a fellow believer to consecrate them for a specific mission for the Kingdom.
Fourth, I led us into a spontaneous time of prayer designed to invite the Lord Jesus to reassume his rightful place among us as Master and Mentor.
One by one, these once-divided leaders expressed to our Father how wonderful King Jesus is, why we adore him for all he is, and how blessed we are to live under his kingship.
Finally, after those few moments of focusing only on the glory of King Jesus, I encouraged them to pray specific requests related to the immediate, critical needs of their church. I urged them to do so with a childlike spirit since, as Jesus taught, those are the ones upon whom God’s kingdom comes.
I guided them in offering prayers inviting God’s Son to break through to free them of all that was dividing them, to come and conquer them in new ways that increased their commitment to him as Lord, to take up his royal role among them in all his fullness, and to once again unite their hearts to one another as the Holy Spirit focused them afresh on Jesus himself as the Head and Leader of their destiny as a congregation.
That evening, they united, like the elders around David in 2 Samuel 5, to declare that Jesus will forever remain supreme as our King; that who he is and what his kingdom is all about supersedes every issue (political or otherwise) that might separate us; that he was great enough and good enough to work with us through the Holy Spirit to arbitrate all disagreements in order to lead us to walk together as one body “in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23).
Suddenly, the Breakthrough Came!
To my surprise, the Holy Spirit began to work powerfully as spontaneous, repentant weeping was heard from some. Expectant smiles dawned on the faces of others as we prayed. A newfound, undeniably supernatural “peace among the brethren” descended upon us before we knew what was happening.
About five minutes later, still circled around the throne, we concluded by standing to sing. We raised our voices as one to our Redeemer King, newly “anointed” and “re-crowned” to be our all in all, by our prayers. What came to mind was the first verse of that historic hymn that begins with these words:
Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne . . . Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died for thee, and hail him as thy matchless King throughout eternity.
As our voices rose in unison, each phrase ratified what had happened among us that night.
This breakthrough began a process that brought about genuine reconciliation among them over the next few months. Now, disagreements were viewed and dealt with from a whole new Kingdom perspective. It’s the viewpoint that all believers should have all the time about everything—including politics! Scripture puts it like this (from Colossians 3, The Message, emphasis added):
So, if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.
Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is.
See things from his perspective.
Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life . . . .
From now on, everyone is defined by Christ; everyone is included in Christ.
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline . . .
Wear love . . . Never be without it.
For the leaders of that one local church, and consequently, for the people they cared for, the issues that divided them—that even stirred up hatred and resentment among them—were overwhelmed by something grander—by SOMEONE grander!
Focused on the power, presence, and purposes of God’s Son, reigning unhindered as supreme in their lives together, they eventually came to the place where no one could remember much of what had created such hostilities in the first place.
Long after that one evening, many professed they were never the same again, above all because they never looked at Christ in the same way again—nor served their congregations in the same way.
Residing, Presiding, Uniting:
A “Coronation Reformation”
A “Coronation Reformation”
One irrefutable reality took hold of them that night.
But God wants it for the entire Body of Christ in our nation.
But God wants it for the entire Body of Christ in our nation.
What if? What if, in every congregation, we experienced a “coronation reformation”? What if we set aside a point in time for a 2 Samuel 5 ceremony—where the whole church returned to reaffirm with one heart and voice the lordship of Christ over them? What if that body began their life together all over again, as it were—resulting in a radical Christ-focused reformation of their fellowship, worship, discipleship, and outreach?
What if? What if, as a result, the “coronation reformation” of God’s people in our land began to bring about the moral and spiritual transformation of America itself, including the adjustment of the priorities and passions of both political parties?
The good news is this: Jesus is alive and active. As King, he is available to reside and preside among his people anywhere on planet Earth—willing and ready to exercise among us the gift of the God-given unity that comes only to those who are anchored in his supremacy.
Our Savior is longing to display powerful expressions of his reign within every single congregation wherever he is allowed to draw us together in love around himself for all he is (as foreshadowed in 2 Samuel 5).
We might call it an approximation—a foretaste—of how we will experience everlasting community in him at the consummation of God’s plan for the ages.
A Unity Focused on Christ’s Supremacy
Is Needed Right Now More Than Ever
Is Needed Right Now More Than Ever
Christians must cease focusing so ardently on temporal barriers that often separate people from one another in this age—tradition, race, gender, ethnicity, age, nationality, and cultural and social status. Above all, we must cease allowing politics—especially in this election year—to create walls between us.
No longer should these distinctions define who we are to each other in Christ, any more than they will define us at that glorious hour when we will convene around our triumphant, returning Lord on the Day of Resurrection.
Instead, as “new creations in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:17), we must embrace one another in love—as we, first of all, embrace Christ together as Lord of all, focusing fully on him who dwells among us in the fullness of his redeeming reign. Only then will we see believers fully united in the love of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit and be “brought to complete unity” (John 17).
Does a dangerously fractured nation like ours have any hope of being unified again?
In 2024, no matter how dedicated the effort, no Democrat, Republican, or Independent politician can ever achieve such a precious outcome politically.
That’s why, like never before, with today’s fierce, fractured, and flailing electorate, this supernatural oneness is the incomparable miracle our nation desperately needs to see powerfully demonstrated in the Body of Christ from coast to coast.
Starting now!
That is why we must not cease praying and laboring for what I call an American CHRIST Awakening—a movement among God’s people to experience and manifest the glory and greatness of God’s Son. The future of America and the cause of Christ in America is on the line!
About the Author
Over the past 50 years, David Bryant has been defined by many as a “messenger of hope” and a “Christ proclaimer” to the Church throughout the world. Formerly a minister-at-large with the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, president of Concerts of Prayer International (COPI), and chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee, David now provides leadership to ChristNow.com and Proclaim Hope!, whose mission is to foster and serve Christ Awakening movements. Download his widely read ebooks at ChristNow.com. Enjoy hundreds of podcast episodes. Watch his weekly vlogs at David Bryant REPORTS. Meet with David through Zoom or in-person events through David Bryant LIVE!
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