And you know, I’m not really sure if that should be a goal anymore.. Like at all… I mean, I’m just being honest here and there’s been a lot of times when I felt like there’s something I was doing wrong because my ministry should have been having a bigger impact. And it was kind of a guilt & disappointment feeling because I really believed that I was at fault for it not having the results I Expected. I only wanted to point people to God, through Christ, and I felt if it weren’t for me being in the way then more people would have received the ‘message.’

But, maybe the mysteries of God are things that naturally take time to be revealed and understood. Especially to a population of 7 billion people.. If it’s slow work of God then perhaps popularity isn’t what we should reach for… They didn’t have “Jesus is my homeboy” or “WWJD” bracelets, or bible tracts back when the bible Authors were trying to express the plans and commands of God. They weren’t going for “marketable.”

No, I have a feeling they were dealing with an overwhelming urge to reveal their understandings of God. They needed to put it out there in the world, talk about it, write about it. And maybe we should start being more like that. More like people who live in God and communicate about Life & God. Then trust God to take the Words wherever he would have them go so we can rest easy at night knowing that the words are still hard at work…

I’ve spent countless hours wondering if I could’ve done more to help this person or that person embrace all that God has for them. To try and tell them God loves them right where they’re at. I’ve felt the pressure to do it “bigger” and “better” than the guy before me and if I can’t, then something is wrong with me. I do believe it’s Gods way of reminding me that I’m not the hero of my story or their story…He is!

My favorite part of this post is, “maybe faithful is more important than our stats” and “maybe me being a success story isn’t necessarily the same as well done my good and faithful servant.”

This takes the pressure off to be a super pastor/leader…do I want to help people? Of course. Do I want to see them embrace all that God has for them? Yes. Will I always see it? No. Will it always happen in the time frame I want it too? No. And I have learn to be okay with that. For me, I need to simply stay faithful to the call of God on my life…to love people where they’re at but leave the life-changing up to God.

Ps-Loved the reference of Gregory Boyle’s book, “Tattoos on the Heart” Success stories and failure stories…that’s real life.