Usually my summers are fun and refreshing, but this summer has been a little different. Instead of relaxing, recharging and refocusing, this summer has been full of hard things. Loneliness, discouragement, doubt, and an overwhelming feeling of being far from God.
To be real honest with you guys, I’m not super excited about serving God right now. It’s one of those things where I know what’s true but I certainly don’t feel like it’s true. This summer has been a battle between my head and my heart. My emotions say run away, hide in your bed, ignore God, don’t love others. My head says listen to God’s word. Stupid head. For real y’all. I just don’t feel like following God’s Word. Fortunately I have this little voice of reason in my head (who coincidentally sounds an awful lot like our wonderful host and my mentor of many years, Laura) that reminds me of the fact train. “The fact train?” you might be thinking. Yep. It’s a slightly cheesy diagram that I learned early on in my walk with God and it looks a little like this:
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If you've been praying and considering what God wants you to do to launch your missional adventure, the next step is to take the next step and move!
Mark Batterson, in his book, Drawing the Circle - the 40 Day Prayer Challenge, says this: "You'll never be ready...I never have been, and I'm sure I never will be, ready for anything God has called me to do...God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called....If you wait until you're ready, you'll be waiting for the rest of your life." I agree with Mark Batterson. I have never felt ready. I have felt anxious, reluctant, and just plain scared when I share my faith, led discipleship groups, emceed meetings, take on leadership, or do something the first time. Three things to think about... 1. You will never feel ready for what God has in store for you. I don't know how many times I have caught myself saying or thinking, "but I don't know enough." Or, "I haven't done that before." As though God doesn't know that already! In wanting to feel ready, I really want to eliminate the need for faith, to minimize the risk or uncertainty. We don't want to feel vulnerable, exposed, in taking that step of faith. But isn't the point of taking that step making God the hero? Have you ever thought “that Christian is so great, serving in ________(country) sharing the gospel” or something along those lines? I did too, until God called me to be “that Christian.”
Going into college, I knew I wanted to pursue God and live for him. I was a very much a baby Christian though. Thankfully I found a great Christian group, Master Plan Ministries and was discipled by a student leader. Through those years of discipleship, I grew as a Christian. One fall of college, God was telling me to pray, Go big in me and go big on campus. I prayed this for months. Even when I would pray it, I would tell God that I didn’t know what this looked like, but I kept praying, “go big, go big.” This is Part Two of a three part series. Check out Part One, On Mission; Start With Your Heart.
"Being missional is an adventure that starts with a heart that is captivated by Jesus." When He has my full attention, I can pay attention to the opportunities that He is putting in front of me. Often we can think of those as spectacular things. We aspire to them, but can't see ourselves there yet. I was in a conversation with some ministry leaders yesterday, and they talked about the inhibitions of people whom they'd like to engage in ministry. "I don't know enough." "I've never done that before." When speaking about missions there is one verse that is brought up time and time again, you guessed it, the Great Commission. "Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20
I got the amazing opportunity one time to hear from a group called the Traveling Team. They are a ministry that goes around the country building up people and presenting God’s word about our command to go to the nations. One thing that hit me was when they talked about the Great Commission being a command from God rather than something you feel called to. Therefore it should be an exception to not to go to the world. This rocked my world. Being missional is an adventure that starts with a heart that is captivated by Jesus. It’s an adventure to see what He might do if I am available to hear and obey Him in the press of everyday stuff. That takes a quiet heart, one that is not caught up in everything around me. A heart that is listening for that still, small voice that says, “this way…,” a heart that is able to push past the noisy demands of the world to recognize a kairos moment.
Kairos moments are those opportunities we might call Divine appointments, serendipity, or even coincidence. They are the moments that make you go, “who would have thought….?” Being missional means I am growing in my capacity to recognize the God moments of each day. They may come in various forms: an interruption, a change in plans, or an unexpected encounter with someone who crosses my path. In those humanly unplanned moments, can I perceive the Divine opportunity before me -to love as He does? To speak His words? To offer what is needed? "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" Acts 2:42-47.
Often we look to this passage in Acts to show us how we need to be in fellowship - the Christianese word for hanging out and eating (even though the Greek word, koinonia, is far more in-depth than that, but I digress). But if you think of it, who are THEY? Before assuming who THEY are, you need to look at the verse before. "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day" Acts 2:41. We were still in our first house, half the size of the one we’re in now. Our kids, eight and eleven, watching us, to see what Christianity was. And I didn’t want them seeing simply lifeless pews, half-hearted, stagnant views. Dead religion as a substitute for a Living God. So, we said “yes” when friends asked us to go to Guatemala with them, to do children’s ministry, stay at an orphanage, and help them disperse wheelchairs with their non-profit organization. Time to “go into all the world….” Or so, I thought.
The problem? The cost. We only had a little over six-hundred dollars in savings, which took years to accumulate. The thought of going seemed ridiculous, yet we said “yes” anyway. We fundraised. Collected shoes, clothes, and supplies requested by the orphanage we are staying at. Do you ever get overwhelmed wondering how to prioritize your time? What does it look like to juggle all you have to juggle but do all the things God wants you to do? What does it practically look like to use your unique gifts, live fully in your unique sphere of influence and fulfill the Great Commission, and keep up with the laundry and cleaning the bathrooms?
When we think of all these things as separate things that need to fit into our to-do list, it is completely overwhelming. So here's a tool that will hopefully help bring a bit more sanity and organization to your life focus. I hope it blesses you. The video will explain the circles and the worksheet is a free printable for you to spend some time processing for your own personal life. “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.” John 13:3-4
Here is Jesus. This is the culmination of His time with His disciples. He has full knowledge of who He is. Beloved Son of the Father who has come from Infinite Love and is returning to that Love as the Risen King. And it is because of that knowledge that he is able to humble himself as a servant. |
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