“If your organization requires success before commitment, it will never have either. Part of leadership (a big part of it, actually) is the ability to stick with the dream for a long time. Long enough that the critics realize that you’re going to get there one way or another…so they follow.”
Seth Godin, (Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us)
I love this quote about leadership because so many times when pursuing God’s purpose we wait to fully commit. We wait to see how things are going to turn out before trusting God with everything. We stop too soon. We fail to remember that we are living for an audience of one.
When my wife and I moved our family to Knoxville from Florida to start City Hills in 2015 we were doing so because the Lord give us a big vision. However, when we moved here there was no evidence most days that the vision was going to come to pass. A few months after the church launched I distinctly remember the Sunday when we had our lowest attendance ever. There were about 30 adults there that morning and one of the Kids Serve Teamers came to me asking if they have to stay in the kids rooms because no kids were there. I remember feeling so low. I did my best to preach an encouraging Word and afterwards I went home and slept from that Sunday afternoon until the next morning. The next day when I woke up I had a word in my mind that another local pastor had said to me. He said, “Don’t forget, one bad Sunday does not define your future.” I thought to myself, “How many Sundays are in 30 years?” I made up my mind that day that I was not going to focus on that one Sunday when there were still over 1500 Sundays left in 30 years. We were here for the long-haul and were not going to wait to go all in until things were going better. I was following a calling God gave me and was committing to leave the results up to God. That day I went to a local store and bought 1500 pieces of candy and put them in a big glass jar. Each Sunday for the next few months I would eat a piece of candy and be reminded to stay faithful and enjoy the journey. Then my kids knocked the jar off the counter and broke it. But that’s another story. #DadLife 🙂
What has God called you to do? Don’t let the circumstances you are seeing right now discourage you from following God’s purpose for your life! Don’t quit! Don’t give up! God is not finished with you yet. Go buy you a big jar of candy and keep trusting the plan and purpose of God for your life 🙂
Father, I pray for anyone who is discouraged right now. I pray that they would sense your love and grace in their lives. I pray that they would have the courage to keep trusting you. I pray for anyone who has been knocked down my circumstances in life. Give them the strength to get up again and trust you! I thank you that You are a God of second chances. We fully commit our lives to you Jesus! Have your way. We trust your plan and purpose. We give this day to you. In Jesus Name! Amen.
I can’t wait to see you this Sunday at City Hills! Join us in-person at 8:30am / 10:00am / 11:30 am and live online at www.cityhills.com
