Ministry of Presence

As the Louisiana State Chaplain with the Capitol Commission, I love offering Gospel Hope and Spiritual Strength to government leaders. Our focus is PRESENCE, PROCLAMATION and PRAYER.

The ministry of PRESENCE is about showing up. Listening. Praying. Caring about their needs, fears, hopes and hang-ups. It is a ministry of being an encourager and letting leaders know they are not alone. I try to run to a leader when everyone else is running away. I try not to put people into categories or judge people by labels. Our focus is on people not politics … lawmakers and not lawmaking.

I want to be one of the 10 or 20 people in a leader’s life who does not want anything in return … not favors, money, votes or agendas. We respect confidences and bring the shalom of God. I never get over the spiritual buzz that takes place when leaders take a step of spiritual growth. I have seen leaders bow their heads and trust Jesus. I have heard leaders say, “all my life I thought you got to heaven by works, now I know it’s by grace.” I have had wives say to me, “I don’t know what you are doing with my husband but keep it up, he’s changing!” We lead with friendship and center on Jesus and the Word of God. Our conviction is:

Jesus must be the center of everything, and we must honor Him in all we do.
The Bible must be our guide for everything we think or do.
In a transactional world, we are called to be relational.

We do not take Jesus to the Capitol. He is already there. We try to discern where He is working and join Him there. It is not about success but about following God. Life is often a wilderness, but when we invite Jesus to be the guide, all bets are off. An adventure awaits. We live with holy anticipation. Pray bold prayers. God is up to something, and we get to ride the wave.

I love the quote from Henry Nouwen on the Ministry of Presence:

“More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.”