I’m Willing

I just came back from attending the 2011 Global Leadership Summit. It was two days of nonstop learning this year. Often there is a session or two that are less than stellar but this year it seemed like I came away with handfuls from every session.

One specific session dealt with leading under difficult situations. We heard the stories of two modern leaders who lead under remarkably difficult conditions. Their unique stories were more reminiscent to the martyrs of bygone eras not experiences of the 21^st century.

The final message of this session was taken from Jeremiah, a book out of the Old Testament section of the Bible. It really was an overview of the ministry life of this ancient prophet who was chosen by God to speak to the nation of Judah of coming judgment if they failed to return to God.

On a scale of one to ten with one being the lowest possible results of a lifetime of ministry Jeremiah’s would have to be pegged at a minus 3 at the best. But through it all and even after a chapter or two of complaints Jeremiah comes to the conclusion that in spite of the difficulties and dangers serving God is better then any alternative.

During one point in the message a large piece of pottery was shattered on stage to remind us of the brokenness of all of us and yet God can still use us in our brokenness. At the beginning of the day each of us was given a broken piece of pottery. After the session we were asked to consider writing a message on it indicating our willingness to serve regardless of what our called to do and then to date it.

My message read “I’m willing! 8-12-11”

Now I have to say that I have said this to God for the past year to year and a half but God’s answer has been wait…not yet. Apparently I had (more likely still have) lessons to learn before I’m properly prepared for what God has next for me.

BTW waiting is not one of my strong suits but the thing about learning patience is that it takes time. It’s kind of like on the job training!

I have to be honest when I came home I put the piece of pottery on the counter and never bothered to tell my wife or anyone else about it. I had some errands to take care of this morning and didn’t get back home until mid afternoon when I finally checked my email prior to doing some finishing work on my message for tomorrow.

Sitting in my inbox was an email from a church I had sent my resume to eleven months ago. Five months ago I had received a communication from them inquiring if I was still available and interested in this church. A month ago I had sent them an email checking with them to see where they were in their process and had heard from them that I was still being considered.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of hunting for a job or ministry lately I have to tell you that you can usually tell by thickness of the letter or whether an email has an attachment if you are still being considered. Thin letters or emails without attachments usually mean that you are no longer being considered for the job/ministry. But thick letters or emails with attachments usually mean that you are still being considered and td you have a questionnaire to fill out.

I’m sure that you are wondering about the email I received this afternoon… It contained an attachment and I’ve been asked to fill out a questionnaire.

Now I’m not saying that my wait is over or the church that contacted me is the one that God has for me but it is kind of exciting to realize that God heard my prayer and wanted to encourage me during my patience experience.

Just clay in the Potter’s hand

Pastor Val