Operation Andrew: Installing Windows and Doors Since 2000

David Gould
Senior Pastor, First Wesleyan Church
http://www.nashvillefirst.com

Have you ever been the new kid in town? When God led my family to minister at an inner-city community church in East Nashville a few years ago, that’s all I knew about our call. In other words, I really didn’t know anyone else in Nashville. It is a wonderful city, full of life and opportunity… and music. I’m finding it’s a great place to raise a family. Spiritually, it is a dynamic city as well. We all know the numbers… over 700 churches in the Nashville area… more churches per capita in Nashville
than any other city… But in some ways it is can also be a closed community. Often times, even churches are closed up during the week. I didn’t know the pastors from neighboring churches because the only times they were in my neighborhood was on Sunday when I was kind of busy.

So, when Operation Andrew sent me an invitation to a pastors honor banquet, I excitedly told my wife about it. I was just settling in to my pastoral role at First Wesleyan Church. It was my first senior pastor position, so I knew I didn’t deserve any honor. But I try to never say “No” to a fine meal. We arrived to find people from many different backgrounds. Apparently I wasn’t the only pastor who liked to eat. But they weren’t there just to eat. They were fellowshipping. My wife and I were quickly swept up into conversation. We realized that we were surrounded by people who had been in ministry for much longer than we had. Some had even lived or had ministry connections in our part of town. Whether they knew it or not, they had become our ‘welcome wagon’, and in the process, opened doors for me in my new city.

After the dinner, I began getting emails about Operation Andrew sponsored, ‘Lunches To Learn’. I know… more food, right? At these lunches there is a topic of interest to the ministry community with a knowledgeable speaker. These topics and speakers provide a window to our culture and help us to see things from a different perspective. They are not just informative, but are again opportunities to meet other pastors and expand our network as we see common needs. I have enjoyed these fellowships, and always look forward to the email alerting me of the next one.

Operation Andrew seems to have a bird’s eye view of ministry in the Nashville area, so it can see the potential of a unified Church in middle Tennessee. By setting up these opportunities for pastors to meet and develop relationships, they are providing a much needed service within the church. What I have come to find through Operation Andrew is you don’t have to be the ‘new guy’ to be disconnected. ‘Disconnection’ doesn’t do anyone any good. It doesn’t help us accomplish our mission, and it doesn’t share the right message with the world.

When I think about the Church in general, I think about a building. Not that a building is ever the Church, but as she is referenced in the second chapter of Ephesians. Every strong building has a good foundation, walls, and a roof. The Church is to be a place of safety for those in trouble during times of cultural storms. It is a place to come home to for the wandering soul. But sometimes the Church, as a building, doesn’t seem to have windows or doors. This makes it more of a vault than a useful building. If the Church is a building, I see Operation Andrew in the ‘window and door’ business. They want to help us see the opportunity for ministry outside of ourselves, and they want us to be able to freely go in and out of our own areas so we can enjoy the benefits of the whole building… the whole Church. They understand how important it is for the building to be fully functional, not only for the edification of the believers, but also for the winning of the lost. If the world sees a building that isn’t functional, they will have no confidence (faith) in the Builder. Without windows, we can’t see out, and they can’t see in. Without doors, we are isolated… and even trapped.

I value the work of Operation Andrew. They have been a blessing to me since my first days in Nashville, and I look forward to installing windows and doors with them in the future.

National Day of Prayer Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, millions of people across the nation will join their hands and hearts in in observance of the 58th Annual National Day of Prayer.

Nashville will host it's own National Day of Prayer observance on the plaza of the Sommet Center from11:30am-12:30pm. The event is sponsored by Operation Andrew and the YMCA of Middle Tennessee. Please join us as we come together in unity to pray for our city, state, and nation. If you are not able to attend the downtown event, please visit the YMCA website to find an event at a YMCA near you.


The National Day of Prayer website discusses why we should pray for our nation:

"As American troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, President Franklin Roosevelt called for our nation to unite in prayer. He also offered a prayer to prepare each citizen for the road ahead. "Let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be. And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee." The victory that followed on June 6, 1944-also known as D-Day-began the march to Berlin. Eighteen months later, WWII was over and one of the world's greatest evils had been defeated. The prayers of a nation had been a powerful force.

Prayer has always been used in this country for guidance, protection and strength-even before we were a nation or a handful of colonies. The Pilgrims at Plymouth relied on prayer during their first and darkest winter. Our founding fathers also called for prayer during the Constitutional Congress. In their eyes, our recently created nation and freedoms were a direct gift from God. And being a gift from God, there was only one way to insure protection-through prayer.

President Abraham Lincoln knew this well. It was his belief that, "it is the duty of nations as well as men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God." When it came to the fate of the nation, he practiced what he preached. Before the battle of Gettysburg, he turned to God in prayer. "I went to my room one day and I locked the door and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to him mightily for victory at Gettysburg." Won by the Union, Gettysburg was one of the turning points in the war that ended slavery and kept the states united. Today the need for prayer is as great as ever. Our nation again faces battlefields, along with an epidemic of broken homes, violence, sexual immorality and social strife. As the heroes of our nation did in the past, we must again bow our heads in prayer. We must ask the Lord to bless our leaders with wisdom and protection, and that we will have the fortitude to overcome the challenges at hand. If Roosevelt, the Pilgrims and Lincoln never underestimated the power of prayer, neither should we.

It is our goal that you, your family and friends would participate in the National Day of Prayer. We pray that the event impacts your life, and that praying for our nation moves from a one-day event to a lifetime endeavor. So join us on the first Thursday in May and pray with conviction that God would continue to shed His grace on thee.