Often and Earnestly
I walked into SBUX at Washington Square , and a friend named Mike bought me an Americano. Mike is a young, talented Student Ministries Pastor in our area. He accepted the position less than a month ago; previously he was a “manager in training” with Starbucks. We began talking about his new position, and said “It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever done. I went from knowing almost everything about what we did to not knowing what to do. And it’s terrifying.”
I can relate to Mike. About 4 – 1/2 years ago I left the marketplace and accepted a position as a short-term missions trip leader. I had led many trips prior to that, but never as my vocation; as the way I fed the family and paid the bills. All of the sudden I felt like I had to sound like an expert, but didn’t have the expertise. I had to raise my own salary. I had to understand the culture(s) and society(ies) I was leading trips to.
The best advice I got wasn’t about how to raise funds (though that advice was helpful); nor was it about how to lead the trips (that advice was also helpful). The best advice I got was “pray, often and earnestly, because if God doesn’t show up, it’s going to fail.”
So my advice to Mike today was to pray. If there is no element of fear, or of uncertainty, God may not be in it. And if He isn’t in it, it will surely fail.
That transfers to my own life. In 2006 I accepted a position as a Multi-site Lead Pastor for an area church. Among many other descriptors, it has been terrifying.
In my personal life, I continue to travel down paths I have no experience with, in situations I’ve never been in, with people I probably shouldn’t be hanging out with. Today more so than ever before. If I’m not prayerful, and I’m acting only out of selfish desires, or my personal wants and needs, what ever I’m doing is gonna fail.
So I’m praying. Earnestly and often.
