What I got out of it….

A few weeks ago we wrapped up our 4th annual church leadership conference – Klesis. Each time we have done this there has been a significant impartation into the corporate life of our church family, as well as individually for those participating. Each year we have been influenced and shaped as Holy Spirit as worked through the lives & message of our speakers, and this year was no different. While I thoroughly enjoyed the messages that our speakers delivered (they will definitely find there way into future teachings) it was probably their informal comments and lives that impacted me the most. As I listened and observed, I saw men of God who very simply, and very humbly, shared their understanding of who God had called them to be and how they were walking that out. It was actually quite refreshing to hear the ease that they shared their calling without any sense of comparison or evaluation of anyone else’s particular calling.

After the conference was over, I sat back and prayerfully considered what God had said to me during the conference and was now asking of me. In doing this I believe that there were two things that God has called me to do, as well as our entire church family.
1. More freely declare what God has called us to: In a culture that doesn’t know how to give honour, where we fight against a still pervasive poverty mentality, and people continually compare themselves one to another, we have almost lost the freedom to simply declare God’s call on our lives. Add to that the number of times we have all heard people say, ‘God called me to…’ only to be met with a lack of fruitfulness and advance, and we are understandably hesitant to say this is what God has called us to….’. And yet this is exactly what I believe God is asking us to do. I don’t believe we are to do this simply with an eye to inform others but, rather with the intent to form our future reality. Knowing that ‘Kingdom declarations create Kingdom realities’ I believe we need to more liberally declare those Kingdom endeavours that God is calling us to so that we can actually and eventually realize them.
2. More intentionally step into what God has called us to: While we need to start by simply declaring what God has called us to we can’t stop there. We need to intentionally and strategically prepare for those eventual realities to become current realities. In the same way that Noah had to build the ark before the animals and the rain arrived, and the Israelites had to put their feet in the Jordan river before it parted, I believe that we must take bold steps of faith in preparation for what God has called us to.

I know that I could spend a lot of time expanding on these two points, but for now let me leave them to stand on their own. It is my hope that everyone in our church family would embrace these two items and all the implications they are laden with. Let’s not get distracted by the everyday stuff of life but let’s continue to pursue the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.