MaryMarth3.5:MaryMarth3.5.qxd 4/24/2007 10:44 AM Page 1 THE MARY/MARTHA PRINCIPLES Discovering Balance Between Faith and Works MaryMarth3.5:MaryMarth3.5.qxd 4/24/2007 10:44 AM Page 2 MaryMarth3.5:MaryMarth3.5.qxd 4/24/2007 10:44 AM Page 3 THE MARY/MARTHA PRINCIPLES Discovering Balance Between Faith and Works T O M M Y T E N N E Y MaryMarth3.5:MaryMarth3.5.qxd 4/24/2007 10:44 AM Page 4 © Copyright 2002—Tommy Tenney All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please note that Destiny Image’s publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some Bible publishers’ styles. Selected quotes are taken from Chasing God, Serving Man by Tommy Tenney (Shippensburg, PA: Fresh Bread, 2001). © Copyright 2001 by Tommy Tenney. Take note that the name satan and related names are not capitalized. We choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating grammatical rules. Fresh Bread An Imprint of Destiny Image® Publishers, Inc. P.O. Box 310 Shippensburg, PA 17257-0310 ISBN 10: 0-7684-2440-2 ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-2440-9 (Previously published as Mary’s Prayers and Martha’s Recipes ISBN 0- 7684-2059-8) For Worldwide Distribution Printed in the U.S.A. This book and all other Destiny Image, Revival Press, MercyPlace, Fresh Bread, Destiny Image Fiction, and Treasure House books are available at Christian bookstores and distributors worldwide. For a U.S. bookstore nearest you, call 1-800-722-6774. For more information on foreign distributors, call 717-532-3040. Or reach us on the Internet: www.destinyimage.com 4 MaryMarth3.5:MaryMarth3.5.qxd 4/24/2007 10:44 AM Page 5 CONTENTS Introduction . 7 SECTION I MARY’S PRAYERS . 11 Chapter One Classic Devotional Thoughts on Prayer and Spiritual Pursuit . 13 “Distractions in Prayer” – Amy Carmichael “Married to Thee” – Phoebe Palmer “Religion of the Heart” – Hannah More “A Lesson in the Interior Life” – Hannah Smith “Loving Jesus” – Thomas à Kempis “Listening Side of Prayer” – S.D. Gordon Chapter Two Contemporary Portraits of Prayer and Spiritual Pursuit . 41 “Practical Insights for the Praying Saint” – Thetus Tenney Activating Your Potential Ministry – Wagner Leadership Institute Bringing the Word of Life Through Worship and Arts – Friends of the Bridegroom Equipping the Body of Christ for the Purposes of Prayer – Intercessors International Binding God’s People Together in Prayer – Intercessors for America SECTION II MARTHA’S RECIPES . 63 Chapter Three Classic Devotional Thoughts for Compassionate Action. 65 “His Servants Shall Serve” – Henry Drummond “The Place of Divine Service” – George MacDonald “A Visible Church in a Secular World” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chapter Four Classic Historical Portraits of Compassionate Action . 83 A Compassionate Saint and a Loving Mystic The Free Church Reaches Out to the World A Shrimp of a Man Brings an End to the Slave Trade Wesleyan Revival Begins Among the Poor How a Revival Started in the Marketplace The Modern Missionary Movement Chapter Five Contemporary Devotional Thoughts for Compassionate Action . 105 Rallying the Armies of Compassion – President George W. Bush Seeking Our Brothers – Bart Pierce It Takes a Church to Raise a Village – Dr. Marva Mitchell God@Work – Rich Marshall 5 MaryMarth3.5:MaryMarth3.5.qxd 4/24/2007 10:44 AM Page 6 Chapter Six Contemporary Portraits of Compassionate Action . 133 It Takes a Church to Raise a Village Compassionate Christianity—Seeking Our Brothers God in the Marketplace Mission in the World—Going to the Nations SECTION III RESOURCES . 169 Chapter Seven Resources for the Compassionate God Chaser . 171 Devotional Books for the Passionate God Chaser Ministries Promoting Worship and Prayer Marketplace Resources for Faith at Work Ministries at Work on the Front Lines Internet Resources MaryMarth3.5:MaryMarth3.5.qxd 4/24/2007 10:44 AM Page 7 INTRODUCTION In Chasing God, Serving Man, I sought to negotiate a peace treaty between the Marys and the Marthas in the Church. We look for a resting place so that there can be peace—a refuge that is both a place for caring worship of the Lord and comforting support for humanity. It is my hope that the whole Body of Christ will create a home where the Marys entertain His divinity and the Marthas host His humanity. “God wants both Mary and Martha in the house…. “The key is for God’s people to cross the dividing line of passion and compassion and meet Him at the convergence of the cross— the single point in time and space where passion for His presence and compassion for His highest creation meet” ( Chasing God, Serving Man, 156). I am a God chaser who is in passionate pursuit of God. This is the heart of my ministry, GodChasers.network. I have given my life to inspire and motivate the Body of Christ to increase the intensity of their spiritual pursuit. But I do believe that God’s people should get their hands dirty in the service of men. I have used my base of ministry to network these dual passions of the Marys and the Marthas, creating a resting place for these two ministries. In The Mary/Martha Principles we have created a resource book that will help the Body of Christ build that resting place. This is a “how to” book that will answer the many questions you have on pursuit and service. There are a lot of books on prayer in the market and many great spiritual cookbooks that promote our life in God. Unfortunately, there are precious few prayer and compassion books that can inspire us on one hand and give us practical steps on the other. 7 MaryMarth3.5:MaryMarth3.5.qxd 4/24/2007 10:44 AM Page 8 T h e M a r y / M a r t h a P r i n c i p l e s We must put our “passion” into motion. Like the old phrase goes, “this is where the rubber meets the road.” In this book the practical merges with the inspirational. The end product is just what you need to get you on the highway towards the passionate chase and compassionate action. I am so excited to present this carefully constructed resource book to you. It will accomplish both objectives. It will serve as spiritual food that will strengthen you on your journey. On the other hand, it will also provide a road map to equip you with directions to reach that special place of passionate pursuit of God and compassionate service of men. The Mary/Martha Principle is a collection of carefully crafted recipes for both seasons in your life. To create this recipe I have asked my many friends to help me produce this practical and inspiring collection. It will be spiritual support for your contemplative praying and sensible solutions for your compassionate serving. I have also introduced into this recipe compelling classic ingredients from the past, combining them with living contemporary components from the present. Our spiritual journey is filled with ebbs and flows. We have all felt the pull of the heavenly tides drawing us out into the depths of sweet contemplation, passionate prayer, and spiritual union with our Lord. It is from that very place that we also feel the earthly tug, drawing us towards the shore of human deprivation, societal misery, and public destitution. In fact, if the truth were known, there is a little Mary and a little Martha in all of us. There are seasons in our lives when we are tucked away in the secret place, giving ourselves to prayer and contemplation. At other times we come out of that secret closet of intimate prayer and passionate pursuit searching for recipes that will enable us to touch the “hurting ones” all around us. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach (Mark 3:14). 8 MaryMarth3.5:MaryMarth3.5.qxd 4/24/2007 10:44 AM Page 9 I nt r o d u c t i o n As we see from this Scripture in the Gospel of Mark, it has al - ways been the heart of our Master to draw His disciples into Himself— preparing them in the place of His presence so that He might eventually send them out into the world. Following is a story shared with me by my friend, Billy Joe Daugherty; it gives us a real life example of how God uses Marys and Marthas. In 1989 we began conducting monthly outreach crusades in the government projects of our city. Using tents and community centers, we faithfully ministered year after year to people of all ages through evangelistic services, medical care, food, and clothing. As the needs of people increased, more and more came to us with every imaginable need. This growing influx of people revealed to us the pressing need to have an onsite outreach in this area, which would better position us to meet their needs. In 1998, a newspaper article identified the area of Tulsa as having the highest crime rate. With my wife, Sharon and our two children, I drove out to that area and we began to pray that God would give us land for an outreach center that would turn the tide of violence and make this a place of peace.