Tool Time

Through a conversation with my wife late last night I realized something I have been struggling to figure out for about two months. It is something that I am both excited and anxious about. It will involve much time, energy and effort. I will need to read, travel and synthesize. If I am diligent, the ministry God has given me will be forever impacted. So, what is it I finally figured out? I need to undergo a major re-tooling in my ministry practice and understanding.

I think we all go through this. In our professions, there are times when all the rules change. Or when all the equipment changes. New models are produced with new patterns of function and repair. As we walk with God, there are times when we need to re-tool for the work God has put before us. There are times when we need to walk through a new door into personally uncharted waters.

The exciting part of re-tooling is the forward moving aspect of it. Many of you know that I have a rather great annoyance for the status quo. Re-tooling gives me an opportunity to take myself and the ministry God has given me to a new and different place. The anxious part is the human factor. Not everyone is willing to move past the known and familiar. I have learned in my short time pastoring, during change there is always great risk of pain. Whenever there is change in the life of a church there are some who simply refuse to adapt, and move on to another place.

In the midst of all that, I struggle with some of the unknowns. I am not sure what God is calling me to learn at this moment, but that too will get revealed as I seek Him. Uncertainty rules my mind when I think about all the possibilities. In the end excitement wins the day. I cannot wait to see what God is going to unfold in the days to come.