Will yourself to grow
He came across as many pastors – a caring, nurturing guy who probably holds onto your hand a little too long when you shake it. He didn’t have a lot of personal charisma. If anything he seemed to have a relatively low sense of confidence.
I was surprised to see him show up at a board meeting for the group where I was a leader. He’d sat in the back of the room and took in the discussions.
When he showed up a second time in a city that I know he had to fly into, my curiosity got the best of me. So I asked, “I’m not sure I understand why you are at these meetings. Are you on the board but don’t like to sit with the group?”
He said, “I’m not on the board. God told me I’m a leader. I figure that if I’m going to succeed I need to hang out with leaders.”
In the end, he never was a part that board. That wasn’t his goal. He did what he did to grow into his life as a leader. Not long after my last contact, he became one of the prime leaders in the Promise Keepers movement that touched hundreds of thousands of men in gatherings at stadiums around the U.S.
Lessons learned?
Listen for your unique, specific definition and assignment.
It’s easy to fall into the default mode of listening to people other than the one Voice (the Holy Spirit) that counts.
Kick fear in the hiney by going for it.
”It’s easier to get forgiveness than to get permission” is true nearly all the time. I love that this pastor was willing to possibly look dumb to be a part of a fantastic learning opportunity. If he is anything like me, he may have ended up thinking, “What’s the worst that could happen if I show up at one of these meetings? I guess they could ask me to leave.“
What does that spell out? As we hone in on what God is saying and where he’s leading – the desire to do something great in God’s kingdom.
Will to will.
You can’t make anything happen, but there’s transformative power in the human ability to will themselves into something new. When we decide a certain direction, we set in motion a series of powerful forces.
Don’t overthink or over-prepare for the success that lies before you. When we complicate things, we lean too much into our power and too little into God’s. He will provide the power and opportunity if you offer the will.