Month: January 2023

“Prayer, the Presence of Christ, and a Power to See: “The Morning Watch” by John R. Mott

The Morning Watch is Mott’s dynamic publication that reveals the practices of abiding in Christ at the start of every day, a personal discipline which transformed his life, fueled a fruitful ministry, and inspired thousands upon thousands of young global Christian leaders to answer the call of God to rise up and serve in the power of the Holy Spirit.

You are invited to read and take to heart the compelling implications of keeping The Morning Watch – a simple set of habits – a subversive set of habits – a sustainable set of habits for building a healthy spirit that makes available through you the transformational energy of God.

“The true object should be – and it is necessary to remind ourselves of this constantly – to meet God, to hear His voice, to receive guidance and strength from Him which will enable me to please Him today in thought, in word, in activity.”

What do you think you are doing when you pray? Who are you becoming when you pray? What happens when we pray? Does it matter?

John R. Mott is one of the most influential Christian leaders in the 20th century; yet now largely forgotten – by the YMCA and the Church.

John R. Mott

Prayer and attending to the presence of Christ Jesus were central to Mott’s powerful accomplishments for the Kingdom of God with the YMCA.

It’s my hope that many of us will look up again to this respected visionary as a model for high-integrity, high-influence spiritual leadership.

Enjoy this extended and practical invitation to pray by Mott, written to young Christian leaders to be alert, ready, able to do God’s will by the power of the Holy Spirit, that we might join in the unceasing work of Christ Jesus. Especially in and through the YMCA. Not just in the 1890s, but in these days too.

The high-capacity legendary accomplishments of Mott are attributed by him to the keeping of The Morning Watch.

First edition printed 1893 by The International Committee Young Men’s Christian Association

“The Morning Watch”

There is no more encouraging fact in the life of the Church at the present time than the increase in the number of Christians who observe the morning watch. This tendency is most marked among students in all parts of the world.

By the observance of the morning watch is commonly meant the spending of at least the first half hour of every day alone with God in personal devotional Bible study and prayer.

What are the advantages of keeping the morning watch?

Without dwelling at all upon the general helpful results which come form the devotional study of the Bible and from communion with God, it should be emphasized that at the very beginning of the day the soul is in its most receptive state.

The mind has been refreshed by the rest of the night, and is also much less occupied than it will be at any subsequent hour of the day. Moreover, the outer conditions in the early morning are most favorable.

The first hour is preeminently the still hour, the noises of yesterday have receded, and the din of the world of today has not yet broken in upon us.

It is easier to say, “My soul be thou silent unto God.” It is easier to heed the command, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Furthermore, by having secret prayer and Bible study for spiritual growth the very first thing, we make certain of them.

By assigning these important exercise to a later hour in the day, we multiply the chances of the being abridged, interrupted or crowded out entirely.

In this connection we should heeds the words of McCheyne: “I ought to spend the best hours of every day in communion with God. It is my noblest and most fruitful employment, and is no, therefore, to be thrust into any corner.”

The morning watch prepares us for the days conflict with the forces of evil with in us and around us.

We do not wait until the enemy is upon us before we gird on the armor and grasp the sword.

We fortify ourselves before any avenue is opened through which Satan might assail us; for example before reading the morning paper, before entering into conversation with others, before turning our own thought currents upon the plans and work of the day. It is always wise to gain a march upon the enemy.

The keeping of the morning watch is the credit of largest and most enduring achievement in life and in service.

Without doubt our failure to prevail with man and against evil in the world during the day is too often due to our more fundamental failure to prevail with God at the beginning of the day.

When Miss Havergal was asked to explain why the Church does not accomplish more, she attributed it to the fact the Christians are not spending the first hour of the day alone with God.

Let us never forget the vital truth expressed by Faber that “the supernatural value of our actions depends upon the degree of our union with God at the time we do them.”

Therefore, if our lives and words and acts throughout the busy day are to possess supernatural value, we must take the earliest opportunity in the day to establish a vital and complete union with God.

Why delay the forming of this union a single hour?

Why be satisfied with having man alone work a part of the day if the energy of God may be manifested all the hours of the day?

Notwithstanding the great importance of the morning watch, there are Christians who say that they do not have the time to devote a full half hour or more of every day to such a spiritual exercise.

It is a striking fact that the busiest Christians, both among laymen and among those who are devoting their lives to direct Christian work, constitute the class who pleads this excuse the least and who most generally observe the morning watch.

It may be questioned seriously whether there is any Christian who will not, after honestly and persistently following this plan for a month or two, become convinced that it is the best possible use of the time, and that it does not interfere with his regular work.

He will find the time that the morning watch promotes the wisest economy of his time.

It makes him more conscientious in the use of time. He learns to redeem it. It helps him to see things in true perspective.

He enters the day well poised, under the control of the Spirit, not distracted; and thus he works without friction, strain, uncertainty and waste.

This suggests an adequate and satisfying reason for the oft-mentioned custom of Luther, who, if he had a peculiarly busy or trying day before him, would double or treble the amount of time which he ordinarily spent in prayer.

To promote the most profitable observance of the morning watch, certain points should be borne in mind and incorporated into practice.

First of all, form an inflexible resolution to keep the morning watch.

It will prove most dangerous and disastrous to permit any exceptions. Special caution and foresight should be exercised, therefore, to guard against such possible exceptions.

Nothing but the unmistakable will of God should be permitted to prevent us form the beginning the day with conscious and unhurried communion with God.

Be sure to be thoroughly awake before entering upon the observance of the morning watch. If necessary, first take a brisk walk in the open air. Let us present unto God for this all-important exercise not only the body, but also the mind, as a living sacrifice.

Have some general plan to follow in this devotional hour.

Many persons begin with a few moments of prayer, follow this with a season of Bible study, then spend some time in meditation, and close with special prayer.

It is possible, however to be over methodical. Beware of formalism at such a time above all times. It is also wise not to attempt to crowd too much into this hour.

Make sure at the very outset of the devotional hour each morning that you are right with God.

If there be any unconfessed sin, wrong motive, or spirit contrary to Christ, it must be made right before we can receive what God has in store for us for the day.

Sin is a terrible thing. It completely insulates us from God. It is vain, then, to expect real spiritual help from Bible study and prayer unless we are willing to give up any known sin.

Happy is the man who closes each day in fellowship with God, and who is able to say with David, “When I awake I am still with Thee.”

Recollect morning by morning the real object of the morning watch. What is it?

It is not simply to enable me to say that I have observed it. It is not to satisfy conscience by observing it because I had formed a resolution to do so. It is not to enable me to prepare Bible studies and spiritual meditations with which to help others.

The true object should be – and it is necessary to remind ourselves of this constantly – to meet God, to hear His voice, to receive guidance and strength from Him which will enable me to please Him today in thought, in word, in activity.

Select and arrange in advance the portions of the Scripture upon which to meditate at the time of the morning watch.

We should keep as much purely mechanical work as possible out of the devotional hour.

The portions selected should be taken from the more devotional and practical parts of the Bible.

They should be brief.

They should, so far as possible, be complete in themselves; and yet often it will be desirable to have portions which, though each is complete in itself, will be related to some common theme.

The follwing examples are meant to be suggestive:

  • the best thirty or sixty Psalms; thirty or more biographical portions; selected Epistles, especially some of the shorter ones; thirty of the exceeding great promises of the Bible; thirty portions bearing on each of such topics as prayer, faith, the Holy Spirit, temptation, our conversation; thirty commands of Christ; thirty or sixty portions of the Gospels bearing on the character of Christ as our example.
  • If a person will take a few hours on three or four Sabbaths during the year, he will be able to outline subject enough for use throughout the entire year.
  • He will then come to his Bible each morning with something definite. It will prevent drifting around and loss of time. It will also promote a more symmetrical spiritual development.
  • The pamphlet “Bible Study for Spiritual Growth” gives many suggestions as to the manner and spirit in which the Bible should be studied for the greatest devotional profit.

Give prayer a large place in the morning watch.

There needs to be prayer not only at the beginning and close of the hour, but the Bible study, meditation, and self-examination also should be conducted in the spirit of prayer.

As this aspect of the subject is treated so fully in teh pamphlet “The Secret Prayer Life” it is not enlarged upon here.

Only by filling the quiet hour with prayer can we keep out formalism and make the morning watch a great reality and force in our lives.

Remember that the hour of the morning watch is the still hour.

After praying and during Bible study it is well to pause and listen to what the Lord shall say.

Too often we fill up the devotional hour with our own thoughts and prayers and leave no still place for listening.

Our actual attitude might often be characterized better by the words, “Hear, Lord, for Thy servant speaketh,” than by the words, “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.”

It is difficult to obey the command “Be still and know and know that I am God.” After we shut out the voices of the world’s turmoil, after we banish the suggestions of the tempter, after we cease to listen to the thoughts about the morrow, after we silence the sound of our own cares, questions, and prayers, then we hear that still, small voice which His true followers always know.

His voice is not like that of the fire, or strong wind, or earthquake, but is like unto “a sound of gentle stillness.”

Do we wonder that Paul exhorted us to study or to be ambitious to be quiet? He knew that it would require study and resolution to learn this great secret.

Who keeps the morning watch?

At once we think of some of the men of Bible times: Moses, who knew God face to face, and to whom in the early morning hours God revealed the Law: Isaiah, whom God wakened morning by morning to hear as a true disciple; Jeremiah, to whom God’s mercies and compassion’s were new every morning; and David, who declared, “In the morning will I order my prayer unto Thee, and will keep watch,” who reiterated, “I myself will awake right early” and “will give thanks,” and who learned from experience that “it is a good thing to show forth Thy loving kindness in the morning.”

The example of Jesus Christ is most impressive.

We are told that “in the morning, a great while before day, He arose up and went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

Tradition teaches that the observance of the morning watch was widely prevalent among the early Christians. Rev. Web-Peploe has said that “All the great saints have been early risers”; and he might have added that they rose early primarily to begin the day with unhurried communion with God.

There come to mind such men as Rutherford, McCheyne and Andrew Bonar, Wesley and Whitefield, David Brainerd and Henry Martyn, George Mueller and Hudson Taylor. It is said of Joseph Alleine, that wonderful preacher of the seventeenth century, that he devoted the time between four and eight o’clock every morning to prayer and Bible study, and that if he heard a blacksmith at his work before he himself began his morning watch, he would exclaim, “How this noise shames me! Doth not my master deserve more than theirs?”

On our recent journey around the world we were deeply impressed by the large number of young men and women who entered into covenant to keep the morning watch.

All the men and women who have gone out from the universities of America and Britain to lead the Christian movements among the students of India faithfully observe this watch. In Ceylon we were impressed, not so much by the beautiful and luxuriant tropical vegetation, nor by the heathen shrines and temples, as by the sigh which greeted our eyes very early one morning of Tamil students walking under the palms with open Bibles in their hands, and their lips moving in silent prayer.

We visited one college in the Levant where, according to the last report, over two hundred boys and young men keep the morning watch. We know of no college in Christian lands of which this could be said. There are ten great student movements in the World’s Student Christian Federation, but that of China is the only one of them of which we could say last year that practically all of its active members began the day with Bible study and prayer. It was visiting a college, not in America or England, or Scandinavia, but in Japan, that we were wakened over an hour before daybreak, and taken through the city, across the valley, and to the crest of the famous Flowery Hill, to meet with the members of the Christian Association of that institution for special prayer, as was their custom.

The practical question for each one of us is, Why should not I keep the morning watch?

Next to receiving Christ as Saviour, and claiming the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we know of no act attended with larger good to ourselves or to others than the formation of an undiscourageable resolution to keep the morning watch.

Is there anything which an stand before the bar of my own reason or conscience that should be allowed to keep me from forming this life-expanding resolution?

Is there any excuse or reason acceptable to God which I can plead why I would not devote at least the first half hour of every day to secret prayer and devotional Bible study?

What would keep me from it? God? Certainly not.

Is it not far more likely self, with its love of ease and its shrinking from the formation of a difficult habit; or Satan, who, if he cannot keep us from studying the Bible and from prayer altogether, is anxious to have us place them as late in the day as possible, because the only things which have ever defeated him have been prayer and the Word of God?

Am I willing to pay what it costs to form this important habit? What will it cost?

Readjusting habits of sleep, which means earlier rising and, it may be, earlier retiring; economizing of time; more than one failure possibly, repeated and persistent efforts; increasing vigilance and real watching unto prayer.

Am I willing to pay the price in order to form this habit, which has so much to do with triumphant life and fruitful service?

If so, when shall I form the resolution?

And how shall a resolution be formed which shall stand?

“It is God that energizeth you, both to will and then to work for His good pleasure.”

For more about Mott, read this inspiring and informative biography by Hopkins

This YMCA Serves No One: Thoughts On What It Means To Be A Membership Organization – by Larry M. Rosen

The YMCA is not, and should not become another “social services agency” or another business.

To be optimally effective in its mission, the YMCA is challenged to apply the tool of membership to build the capacities needed in every community for those communities to thrive.

People from every corner of every neighborhood must be included as members in every larger numbers for this mission to be realized.

Serving people has nothing to do with it. Involving people with a shared vision as co-owners and co-producers – as members – is everything.

This article was given to me a few years ago, photocopied from some pre-existent document, written by Larry M. Rosen who at the time was the President and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. No date on it; maybe written in the late 80’s or early 90’s it is still a highly relevant manifesto, at least here in the Midwest YMCAs that I am familiar with these days. I’m republishing here so that it gets more attention again, so enjoy – and feel free to share, discuss with colleagues, and maybe make some changes to how your Y does membership. A PDF version for download is available as well.

A slogan as bold as “We build strong kids, strong families, strong communities” is a heavy weigh for an organization to carry around. On one hand, the statement is a compelling description of the YMCA’s mission, a dramatic rendering of what the world can expect from the YMCA.

On the other hand, the statement compels the YMCA to deliver on its creed. It’s not enough to say it; it must be observably so. Without a purposeful and rigorous commitment to the concept of membership, there is no real hope of building strong communities.

Membership Versus Service In Community Building

A compelling case can be made that a strong community cannot exist unless its members act as co-owners and co-producers of the thing to which they belong. The higher the levels of ownership and responsibility felt by the members of a community, the greater the likelihood that the community will fulfill the needs of tis members.

In this regard, the notions of membership and service are in opposition to one another.

Members both enjoy privileges and accept responsibilities. When someone becomes a member of something, the act of joining is a statement of desired benefits and a willingness to be part of the process of making those benefits possible. It is not possible to be a member without the acceptance of some responsibility for the thing joined. People with privileges and without responsibilities are not called members, but customers.

  • Customers are served. Members are involved.
  • Customers get what they pay for. Members have a say and a hand in what they get.
  • Customers are owed what they have coming to them. Members are part of the delivery system.
  • Customers have not obligations beyond the requirement to pay for their goods and services. Members are responsible for the organization that makes the thing possible.

There is another way in which the ideas of service and membership are incongruent. In some instances, the term service is applied to work with those less fortunate: not customers who demand to be served, but others whose life condition calls for compassion and support. In such cases, the impulse to serve is the impulse to help.

It can be argued, however, that by responding to people’s needs by rendering service, the recipients are diminished and communities are compromised, not built. Beyond the immediate relief of a physical need, those doing the helping always feel better about themselves than those being helped. By inviting those with special needs to be involved as members and to become co-producers of the thing they benefit from, a larger result can be achieved, from both personal and community perspectives.

What this suggests for a YMCA that aims to build strong communities is that it should undertake no work which cannot be accomplished by an act of partnership with its members. This impulse to serve might be properly channeled into a search for the solutions that memberships can provide.

How Communities Are Built

When it comes to building strong communities, there are many tools, methods and materials required to do the job. Some of these, such as the infrastructure of a strong economy, roads, sewers, public safety, public schools and the like are beyond the purview of organizations like the YMCA. At best, the YMCA’s contributions to such infrastructure are peripheral.

What makes sense is to consider what elements of building a strong community is within the purview of the YMCA. Once these components are defined and understood, YMCAs that presume to lay claim to building strong communities, must set out to provide them with deliberation and intent. In this day of heightened accountability for nonprofit organizations, it is not good enough to suggest that the mere presence of one’s facilities and programs will deliver the stated outcomes.

Strong and effective organizations in any realm – for profit, nonprofit, governmental or educational – are notable for the congruence between their stated goals and the way they deploy their resources in pursuit of those goals.

In the best examples, both the goals and the commitment of the organization to achieve them are obvious to all of the organization’s internal end external constituencies. Saturn Motor Cars (in the early days), Microsoft (in the early days), Disney (for the most part), Habitat for Humanity, Starbucks, and the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (1984) are (or were, for a signficant period of time) organizations in which the employees and the public had the same idea about what their goals were.

In the simplest terms, organizations being operated congruently with their stated goals are characterized by structures, systems, staffing patterns, products, communications and organizational priorities which have been conceived and tailored expressly for the purpose of achieving those goals. People within such organizations are always examining the elements within the organization for their applicability to the goals. People, structures and other things that do not contribute to the pursuit of the goals are not allowed to persist.

When it comes to the goal of building a strong community then, YMCAs are well advised to embrace the policies, organizational structures, programs and methods which contribute materially to the pursuit of that goal and to abandon those which to not. The simple question, “How does this policy (program, method, etc.) contribute to building a strong community?” should be applied commonly.

What Characterizes A Strong Community?

When Alvin Tofler wrote in The Third Wave about modern man’s search in a technologically advanced age for “structure, meaning and community,” he was referring to man’s overpowering hunger for a sense of belonging and connection to others, without which the world would seem overwhelming.

Whatever its defined purposes in any given case, a strong community is a cooperative enterprise of tis members. Strong communities are not composed of those who take and those who provide. Rather, a strong community is characterized by a sense of shared ownership in which all of tis members recognize both their privileges and their responsibilities.

This is not to suggest that some may not help more than others, or that others may require more support than many. Instead, the description of a strong community embraces the ideal that all are invited to contribute as they are able to its sustenance and each is encouraged to partake fully of the benefits it provides. Throughout, there is the expectation that all will participate in some way to sustain the community for the benefit of al who are within it.

The sustenance of a community extends far beyond its physical requirements: its members need to be nourished spiritually, socially, emotionally, recreationally, and in many other ways. Communities provide the fabric of life, the weave that incorporates all the elements of the daily lives of their members. Communities provide the mechanisms and structures by which their members might support one another in these ways.

Finally, and most importantly, a community is not defined by geography.

A community can exist whenever and wherever people congregate around common goals or common interests. Within each such gathering are the seeds of a community and the opportunity to benefit by its creation. This is where the YMCA fits in the picture.

The Role of the YMCA in Building Strong Communities

The YMCA can promote community building by conceiving of each of its programs as a small community, in and of itself. Within each of these small communities, the YMCA can stimulate and nurture the processes of community formation. By doing so, the YMCA does two things: it create a structure capable of meeting a wider array of the needs of its members and it teaches the members the skills of community membership/leadership to be applied in other parts of their lives.

Imagine. The 6:30 AM Fitness Class as a community. So conceived ,this class would attend to much more than its participants desires to become physically fit. The members of the class would be encouraged in natural and simple ways to care for one another: they would know one another’s names…some would assume various roles of leadership (teaching the class, helping teach the class, welcoming newcomers, participation in decisions to modify the curriculum)…social support (recognizing birthdays, marriages and other life events) would make classmates feel more connected to one another…those absent would receive calls of encouragement from other members…those going through illness or other rough times would receive calls of support and concern. The class would have an identity, a rhythm and rituals of its own. In ways large and small, the members of the class would be provided ways to enrich and sustain this little family, from bringing the lemonade to the end-of-the-month potluck to picking up the classmate whose car was in the shop.

Imagine. The Lincoln Avenue YMCA Child Care site as a community. Parents would be given roles to play in the governance of the site, including decisions about curriculum and scheduling. Families enrolled at the site would be provided opportunities to become friendly with one another, even to the point of helping one another out with the burdens of busy lives and child rearing. The site community would serve as the catalyst for cooperative solutions among its members for the problems of baby-sitting, shopping, family recreation, school-related concerns and the like. The sick would be called and the troubled would be comforted; at the same time, birthdays would be celebrated and other joyful events would be acknowledged.

Imagine. The YMCA Youth Sports Team as a community.

Imagine. The Regulars in the Nautilus Room from 7-8 PM as a community.

Imagine. The Branch Board of Managers as a community.

In truth, any activity and any program of the YMCA can be organized to promote community building, teach the skills of community membership and leadership, and deliver the benefits of a community to those involved. It is no more than a matter of intention and design that this should happen.

At the heart of it all is the concept of membership. it is only in lasting and progressively deepening long-term relationships that the YMCA succeeds in its work. The power of the YMCA is not felt in short term associations. To know the truth of this, one has only to look at those who have risen to the top echelon of YMCA volunteer leadership.

There is a powerful correlation between the depth of the relationship over time and the value received by a YMCA member. It is also true that such members of long tenure also return proportionately more to the strength of the YMCA community. Commitment grows through involvement over time. The ideas of commitment and membership are inseparable.

It is also true that the sub-atomic, irreducible particle of a community is the concept of membership.

It is central to community building that whatever is done, it is done with people, not for them. Any YMCA program that does not contain both the expectation and the opportunity for participants to become more than consumers of a service works at cross-purposes to the larger goal.

Sometimes the commitment to a congruency between the goals and methods will act to exclude the YMCA from taking on something that might be considered socially worthy, as in a government or foundation funded grant for a special population requiring certain services. In other cases, the YMCA might have to take a pass on a potentially lucrative marketplace opportunity that requires it to think of its constituents as customers, rather than as members.

At the end of the day, however, the YMCA’s unique place as an organization that aspires to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities is a function of its commitment to the concept of membership, not service. The YMCA is not, and should not become another “social services agency” or another business.

To be optimally effective in its mission, the YMCA is challenged to apply the tool of membership to build the capacities needed in every community for those communities to thrive. People from every corner of every neighborhood must be included as members in every larger numbers for this mission to be realized.

Serving people has nothing to do with it. Involving people with a shared vision as co-owners and co-producers – as members – is everything.

This YMCA Serves No One by Larry RosenDownload