Lead by Asking

A few weeks ago I told you about a man in our church who leads our worship. His name is Calvin. Calvin recently lost his job at a large tech company in town. Initially I was taken back at the thought of losing this amazing family. Over the last few weeks God has done some cool things and I thought I'd share them with you.

A few weeks back I sat down with Calvin and together we discussed and prayed over his situation. About a week later we came back together for more prayer and discussion. It was during this second meeting that I decided to 'Go for the ask'. I challenged Calvin to pray and see if the Lord would lead him to become a missionary to our church for a period of 1 year. I said "Calvin, all of your life you have chased success... Pray and see if God would allow you to chase significance."

As you might expect he was taken back by the request but agreed to pray and seek God's face for direction. Another week goes by and we meet. Calvin tells me "I want you to know that I prayed begrudgingly but over time my prayers have changed from 'God should I' to 'God I want to...'.

All of this leads up to Sunday morning (remember I wasn't with the congregation this week). Calvin and his family talked these last few weeks and have decided to stay. They allowed another gentleman in the church to announce their decision via an open prayer time during the service. I can't tell you what this has done and will do for our church plant.

God's passion to reach humanity for His glory is bigger than all of us individually. We live in the most wealthy nation to ever exist. We in our country are among the most wealthy people to ever exist on the face of earth and yet we always want more. I wonder how often we miss out on God's significance for our lives because we get distracted by our view of 'success'?

In explaining his seed analogy in Matthew 13, Jesus said:

"²²The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful."

If I can offer any encouragement this week to you it's to 'Go for the ask'. Raise the bar of commitment and passion for Christ within your core. You have people around you who are successful at what they do but they want their pastor to challenge them to significance. There may be people in your congregation who could single-handedly fund a major project or spearhead a new venture. You may even have a few Calvins in the room who (if prompted) are willing to ask the Lord if they can be used as a missionary.

Leader... Lead by Asking.