Question: "Why do we rarely, if ever, lay hands on and/or annoint with oil, the unwell, or hurting in our church?”
by Pastor Stacey Weeks
Scripture and this question talk about the practice of anointing with oil and laying on of hands for the living. Anointing in Scripture starts in the book of Genesis, when the consecrating of the pillar in the temple to God occurs. Then a second type of anointing happens in Exodus for the calling out and setting apart of leaders (priests). Both types of anointing were used for consecrating the items or the people for the work of God. It is a way of setting them apart as holy and chosen.
Another type of anointing is in regards to those that are sick. That is the type of anointing that this question addresses.
James 5:14 speaks directly to this:
Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. (NLT)
At Adventure, our shepherds (elders) do anoint and pray over people. In accordance to this Scripture, it is done where the ill person is and typically not during our Sunday worship services. The seriously ill and injured are usually incapable of attending church. Usually this work is done in hospital rooms, emergency departments or in the person’s home.
I also want to spotlight the tone and instruction at the start of James 5:14. It instructs the members of the church to call your elders. In other words: let them know what is going on!
As a pastor, I know it makes my heart hurt to find out that someone was ill or injured and did not call their church leaders or ask someone to contact the church. Part of being in a Biblical community is being honest with each other when we are scared or hurting. It is also allowing others to love on you when you are down, due to illness or other circumstance.
We are each called to help the hurting and reflect Christ’s love. Once we know what is going on, it means a lot of people at Adventure will pray (our prayer team and pastors), the elders (shepherds) will pray and anoint, and others will prepare meals, mow a yard or even watch the kids (life2life groups and others). This is the church being the church and each of us doing our part in the roles we have in this body of believers.
Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. (NLT)
At Adventure, our shepherds (elders) do anoint and pray over people. In accordance to this Scripture, it is done where the ill person is and typically not during our Sunday worship services. The seriously ill and injured are usually incapable of attending church. Usually this work is done in hospital rooms, emergency departments or in the person’s home.
I also want to spotlight the tone and instruction at the start of James 5:14. It instructs the members of the church to call your elders. In other words: let them know what is going on!
As a pastor, I know it makes my heart hurt to find out that someone was ill or injured and did not call their church leaders or ask someone to contact the church. Part of being in a Biblical community is being honest with each other when we are scared or hurting. It is also allowing others to love on you when you are down, due to illness or other circumstance.
We are each called to help the hurting and reflect Christ’s love. Once we know what is going on, it means a lot of people at Adventure will pray (our prayer team and pastors), the elders (shepherds) will pray and anoint, and others will prepare meals, mow a yard or even watch the kids (life2life groups and others). This is the church being the church and each of us doing our part in the roles we have in this body of believers.
Every week there is an invitation during service to come to our shepherds if you feel you need prayer. If you prefer to put your prayer request in writing, please use the prayer card inside the bulletin.
And if something happens during the week, contact your faith coach, a pastor, or the main office and let us know! We are not meant to walk alone!
And if something happens during the week, contact your faith coach, a pastor, or the main office and let us know! We are not meant to walk alone!
No comments:
Post a Comment