the uncalling of God- obedience Part 2 of 2

I've recently really been wrestling with a few thoughts about pastors and what causes them to leave ministry. This all came about a few months ago when I heard again of another buddy of mine that I went to college with (Southwestern Bible College) and that he left full time vocational ministry, he told me that he was done, and that he wasn't going to do it ever again. And that was hard to hear, especially because I felt the same way before, however I was very fortunate to have someone who I really respect (now my Pastor) walk with me though that time and encourage me. My heart aches for my buddy, and it made me think of how many more have has some kind of bad experience as well. So I started contacting several of my old buddy's and was a little surprised to find out that 12 out of 20 of them are not currently in a full time vocational ministry an longer. Now please hear me when I say that I don't have a problem with someone leaving full time vocational ministry and making a career doing something else. What I am saying is I want to know what happened to this person along the way that caused them to go from believing that God had called them to full time ministry, then to walk away from that all together, I have a hard time with this. Is it that they where not called to begin with, or a lack of obedience, or did God uncall some of them? I really don't know, but I'm excited to find out some more info. I'm getting a group of the guys together that I graduated with and we are going to have a round table discussion about this very topic of why they pulled out of ministry. I'm convinced that something has to be done, because great leadership does not squash leadership potential, it develops it.

As I process all of this I came back to my thoughts on Obedience....and my question is this, and please let me know your thoughts I'd love to hear them....

If someone feels "Called" to full time ministry, can they be "Uncalled" or is it just a lack of obedience?

Obedience Part 1 of 2

I was recently talking with someone who had to make a very difficult decision. They sought advice from those they respect, they prayed about the situation, they had those that care about them pray about the situation and then something happened....God provided an option for this person to take. Now things at this point can go in 2 different directions. This person can either choose to acknowledge the opportunity and so then act on it, or choose not to acknowledge it and keep moving on and keep praying about it. I believe when we pray for things the Lord answers those prayers by providing options of how we can deepen our faith in Him. If we recognize these moments and seize them, I believe we are acting on FAITH, and when we act in faith we are walking in OBEDIENCE to how Christ wants us to live.

how is that fair?

I just received a phone call a little bit ago from a parent in our church that could hardly talk, what she did say was that a young girl in our church that had been fighting with cancer passed away..... How is that fair? I mean really, how is it that a young girl with her entire life ahead of her had to struggle with such a nasty deadly disease like cancer? And why is it that I can't seem to process that kind of stuff in my head? As the Pastor of Compassion at our church part of my responsibilities are to care for people's needs locally, regionally, and globally. Right now my heart aches for this family. Then Mom is a strong single parent. And again when I think of things like this my mind can't grasp it, a child is gone, and now a single parent is left to care for the rest of the children and also for herself, how is that fair?
Last month our Pastor, Greg, did a series on "Uncertainty", and one of the messages was titled, "Why does God allow Suffering", and even now I have to go back to what God says, and I have to focus on TRUTH, and know that God is GREAT and He does care. Psalm 56:8 is a great comfort and reminder to me, "you keep track of all my sorrows, you have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recored each one in your book." This was a Jewish custom that would happen at funerals. They would pass a bottle around and each person would put their tears in a bottle, then they would take it to the wife, family, or children of whoever it was that suffered the loss and, it was to be a reminder that they were hurting with them. That's an awesome picture of what a church is to be. Romans 12:15 says that we are to "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn." In the midst of grieving the loss for a loved one, or in this case the loss of a child in our church, I have to come back to Truth, and that truth is that Christ loves each of us so intimately, the Bible talks about how Jesus even wept after hearing his good friend died. Jesus wept, I find comfort in knowing the God of this universe loves us so much that he wept over one of his children who passed. In Matthew it says, "what is the price of two sparrows, yet when one falls from the sky, I know. And I care so much more for you." I'm so thankful that I serve a God who is close and personal, and not distant or far away.

Divine Appointment...what the heck does that mean..

I hate that phrase. Divine appointment, I think it makes us Christians sound so stupid because we make up our own words. Words that really have no meaning except to Christians and if you are not a Christian they sound stupid, and if you are a new Christian you are made to feel like you have to understand the terms or you don't somehow fit in or are not spiritual enough.
Tonight I met with a young guy at my favorite place, Starbucks. Until today I'd only spoken to "J" once, never even met him. In fact he he doesn't even go to our church which made meeting him a little more interesting to me. Sometimes with ministry you can get so bogged down by doing "stuff" that you totally miss out on what the Lord may really want you to do. And that could have been the case here. I had so much "stuff" I could have been doing, and one thing I have learned while being in ministry is that there is always "Stuff" to do. So I put the "stuff" the every day trying to get ahead paper work, calls, contacting, planning for events, meetings, and more, I put that to the side so that I could meet with J tonight.
As I was sitting Starbucks, reading a great book by a guy that I would say has had the BIGGEST impact in my life besides my dad, and my youth pastor and that would be Andy Stanley. I was reading his book, " Visionering", (great book by the way)when J walked in. He immediately approached me and introduced himself and then proceeded to order his coffee, as he did I prepared myself for whatever I was about to hear, all I knew was that he was just finished with a nasty divorce and now a battle over the children was going on, and I was pretty sure that he wasn't a follower of Christ. So I prayed, just asking the Lord to use me in whatever way He would choose.
"J" sits down and proceeds to tell me what has been going on in his life. As he did I thought to myself, "there is no way that us meeting at Starbucks was an accident". "J" was hurting, and my heart ached for what he was having to carry all on his own. I shared with him that Jesus said his yoke was light and that he wants to carry our burdens and that we were not designed to carry things on our own. I asked if I could share what Christ had done in my life and he said he'd love to hear it. So I shared how Christ made a difference in my life, and that he could change "J's" life too if he would only give his life to Christ.
Then the moment came that I asked him if he would like to give his life to Christ and he looked at me and said he had tried everything but Jesus and that he wanted to have Him. At that moment, my heart was so taken back, I wanted to make sure that he wasn't feeling pressured so I said we don't have to do this right now, and he said he wanted to. At that moment, we prayed, right there in Starbucks "J" became a follower of Christ!
We talked for a little while and after that we headed our ways, but committing to getting together on Wednesday nights.
As I got in my car I could not get that thought out of my head....divine appointment. what the heck does that even mean? Appointment meaning a meeting set for a specific time or place, and Divine meaning proceeding from God. So as I thought about it, a divine appointment is a meeting that God wanted to happen, He put it on His calendar.
I was so thankful to be apart of what God was doing. I hope that I'm always available for those God appointments and that I never get too busy with the "stuff" of ministry that I miss out on what the Lord has on His calendar.

"the Call"

I recently got back from our trip with our high school students as they were on a mission trip to the California/Nevada area where they did 2 vacation bible schools a day. I have done this trip 10+ times with students, and it's always a blast to see how God is going to work in and through the lives of the students that are involved. This trip has a high level of commitment and can be tough for anyone, 15 weeks of training for a trip that some have never been on can be frustrating and doubts can set, and each year there are students that drop out and at the end, they always wish they wouldn't have. But for those who do go, it is always without a doubt the most impactful and meaningful trip that they maybe apart of. When we prepare spiritually, and are prayerfully dependent on the Lord, and have put our best effort forward, God does something awesome! I know cause I've seen it happen each time! It's during this time that students are so open to what the Lord is saying to them, they are focused, away from distractions...oh yeah did I mention that we put cell phones away for the week. Like I said, no distractions.
It's during this time that I believe if you challenge a student they will rise to a new level in their walk with Christ, and also in their leadership. These are after all the core students that you have, so why not challenge them to a high level leadership, and when you do, they always respond.
This year I focused on "the Call", meaning how to know if God is calling you to ministry. Each time I study how Jesus called his disciples, I'm always reminded that He called teenagers, and they where not the best and smartest, they where the nobodies. But God used a bunch of nobodies to change the world!
I really believe that Jesus called teens because when they are dedicated to something nothing can hold them back.
Several of the students who went on the trip with us last month, knew that God was "Calling" them to full time ministry, and I'm excited to see how God is going to continue to use them!

effects of ministry....

Too often Pastors leave, or are asked to leave their church. Now some for good reasons, and some for reasons that are far too stupid to even go into detail, my point being, too often Pastors leave their position before they can see the fruits of their labor in those who they have spent hours pouring into, praying for, and discipling. This can be one of the most disheartening things of all, but for those who have had the opportunity to actually see the opposite it is one of the biggest blessings to see. I've had the opportunity to see several students from which I was their youth pastor, all the way from Jr. high then High School, and now are heading into their adult life. Performing the wedding ceremony for former students has been one of the biggest honors that I could ever have, I've had the opportunity to do 2 weddings for former students, and I'm sure I'm just getting started. One of those couples that I had the privilege of marring, are now some of our closest friends, we are doing life together! A few more of our former students are now going to Southwestern Bible College(great school by the way, let them know that I sent you!) and are heading into ministry, for me this makes my heart so overjoyed! To see those who you spend so much time with, and they caught it! They actually caught! And now they are being further equipped to do full time ministry....wow, it's just so stinking awesome! But for everyone of the success stories, there seems to be 2-3 stories of those who have had some real tough struggles. My heart breaks when I hear of former students who got pregnant, or are now living with their boyfriend, or spent time in jail, or are now the partiers getting waisted on the weekends and sleeping with whoever or whatever has 2 legs and walks. My heart breaks for them, because somewhere along the line....they didn't catch it, and I have to wonder why. Why did some catch it and some didn't. And no matter how I try to rationalize it, or try to push it to the side, I still have to realize that it is not me. It's not my fault when someone walks away from what they believe, it's a decision they have made, and as much as I grieve over that decision, realizing that the Holy Spirit is grieving in ways that I can't begin to understand, and yet the Lord is so ready and waiting with open arms to welcome them back.

Ministry can be so draining at times when these things happen. I really believe that's why so many Pastor's leave ministry, they get discouraged, and burned out! I have found those times will come, when they do I go back to what someone close to me said, "if you are in ministry to change peoples lives, get out. You will die of a broken heart. Do it for the audience of ONE."

Lord thank you for the opportunity to serve you, may I never forget that this is about YOU.