One Thing

I was recently with the pastors and wives of the Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI) at their annual conference. It was a wonderful, overwhelming week for them. Lots of insights. Lots of information to take in and assimilate. Lots of vision. Lots of aspiration for what could be.

Likewise, I coach several pastors who were at the recent Exponential conference. Again, wow! Amazing days of inspiration, passion and how to's.

So... now what?

We come home from conferences like that with 10,000 ideas all of which we want to implement yesterday. But here's what experience has taught me. Instead of trying to do 10,000 things, focus on one thing.

We will never accomplish 10,000 things. But, by God's grace, we can accomplish one thing. And if we accomplish the one thing that is the right thing MANY things may then be the result.

So what is that one thing? Discipling real people.

(Many of us were never trained to do that. So that will be the focus of our upcoming blogs.)

One of the young pastors I am privileged to work with through Dwelling 1:14 is focusing on planting a church not through starting a worship service but through discipling real people. He recently sent out an update to people who are supporting him with the following story. Check it out and next week we will focus on HOW to disciple people.

"A few months ago I ran into an old high school acquaintance of mine at the airport. We chatted for a bit, shared a meal together and exchanged contact info. In the course of our conversation he asked what I was up to and I shared a brief description of the discipling ministry I have begun. He told me that although he was not a believer, he was intrigued at the thought of a bare bones pursuit of following the teachings of Jesus in one’s daily life. He said that there were a variety of significant life events that he was going through, and since I am someone he was familiar with he would like to get together to talk about some things.

"About a month ago we finally did meet at a pizza joint nearby. We did a little more catching up and briefly discussed a few of the things he had mentioned at the airport months before. Then he shifted the discussion. It was obvious to me that there was a primary reason he wanted to meet with me and it wasn’t to have pizza, catch up or to discuss the things from the airport. As Rev. Finke of Dwelling 1:14 Ministries would say, 'God was messin’ with him.'

"Before I ran into him at the airport God had put a desire in this guy’s heart to live life in a deeper, more intentional and more meaningful way. But he didn’t really know where to go for it. He had a few experiences in churches growing up, but saw little significance to those times in his life. He saw the significance of close community but didn’t know where to go to find it. Having shared with him my hopes for a community based on following Jesus, God put in his mind that this was the thing he was looking for. He told me quite frankly that even though he has not been a religious person, for a variety of reasons he wanted to be involved in this whole discipling ministry thing. That night I gave him a daily devotional, made sure he had a Bible, prayed with him, and made plans to meet with him and another guy the following day.

"Fast-forward a few weeks. It is amazing to hear how God has been working in his life. He has been digging into God’s Word, having read through the Gospel of Luke and starting in on reading Acts. (As we discuss the Scriptures I am struck by his insightful questions and comments, as he looks at the ministry of Jesus with totally fresh eyes.) He has been listening to the issues of other people in his life with God’s ears, and has offered to pray for some of them. He went out of his way to help a family member - with whom he has had a difficult relationship - to get back up on his two feet by setting him up with a job. None of this is anything he would have dreamed of doing just a month or so ago. As he continues to grow in his knowledge and trust in our Savior, I have no doubt that God is going to use this man to bring others to faith in Christ as well. "

One thing.

What will yours be?