A long-time friend of mine dropped by this week. We haven’t talked face-to-face in years, but he was in town, reached out, and we got to take a walk down memory lane.
I met Dave in 1989 at a CRU summer ministry project. It was there that I was introduced to the idea we include as part of our Portrait of a Connected Life … Connecting Backward with our Story. Dave and I sat down one day that long ago summer to process the angst I had about my future as a young college student. My life felt like a giant Jinga tower, swaying in the winds of aimlessness and confusion, poised to come crashing down at any moment.
“What should my major be? How am I going to pay for college? Who should I marry? What kind of job am I gonna get? What does God want me to do with my life?” I asked.
Dave had a yellow legal pad and pen on the table in front of him, and he sprung into action. He didn’t answer a single one of my questions, but rather took me back, way back. “Tell me more about your life, Monty.” Dave inquired. “I know so little about you. Start as far back as you can remember. Tell me about your family, friends, schools, hobbies, the thrills of victory, and the agonies of defeat.”
The earliest memory I had was the divorce of my parents. I was 8. Following that, I told Dave a long story about growing up in rural Stillwater, OK. I described what I would later understand was a terribly dysfunctional family. It seemed perfectly normal to me at the time.
I loved sports, but hated math. I listed teachers, coaches, counselors and a youth pastor who all shaped my view of the world for better or worse, mostly better. Dave attentively listened and patiently populated the lifeline he had drawn on that yellow pad with my experiences and relationships.
I was stunned. There it was, my life on a page. I had buried so much of it. I had convinced myself that I was unaffected by it all, and yet that page told a different story. The vision that had guided my decisions up to that point consisted mostly of all that I wanted to avoid; all that I didn’t want to become. Looking back, that vision wasn’t very inspiring or helpful.
The picture on that yellow page, however, was a turning point. It was the gateway to a fresh vision for my life going forward. I began to believe that I was “God’s workmanship” (Ephesians 2:10), and that He was lovingly working all things together for my good (Romans 8:28) and His glory (1 Timothy 1:17). I became less focused on pleasure, prosperity and popularity; more focused on finding my place and part in God’s redemptive mission. I began to believe that God had a much better idea about who I could become and how I should invest my life than I did. I began to ask more often for His direction rather than the shallow fulfillment of my own worldly ambitions.
By the way, I did this poorly, not perfectly. My track record is full of blemishes. The only thing I can say is that I persevered. I just stayed at it. When I stumbled, I got up by God’s grace, and gave it another try.
I think the same thing could be said of our church. We’ve had ups and downs, hiccups and halleluiahs. But generally, we’ve just stayed at it and seen God do “far more abundantly than all we asked or thought” (Ephesians 3:20).
There have been defining moments in our story … a string of provisions around facilities, staff, volunteer ministry leaders, and numerous partnerships with Christian entities of all kinds. There have been some lean moments, and many others where our cup has overflowed. It’s our story, and God has been patiently leading us to where we are today, always ahead of us, paving a path of redemptive influence, and calling us to trust in Him and faithfully follow.
In just a couple of weeks, we’re going to talk about where God is leading us next. To say we’re excited is an understatement. Honestly, our next ministry year is a beautiful outworking of all that we have been focused on this year around connecting outward with the mission!
Please mark your calendar with a big “Vision Sunday” on August 11, 2024. Together, we’ll celebrate the encouraging activity of God in and around us this past year. In addition, we’ll set our sites forward to where He will be taking us in the next.
As always, would you join our leadership team in prayer for the ministry year ahead? We’re asking Him for wisdom, unity, provision and favor … all that we will need to faithfully and fruitfully do everything He has called us to do. I can’t wait to step with you into this new chapter of our story. To God be the glory!