I was reading in Exodus 18 this morning and read something that I’ve always just skimmed over before, but it offers some powerful lessons, especially for those in leadership positions or in positions of authority over others–whether it be within the church, at work or simply as head of a home. Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law and shortly after the Israelites exited Egypt, he came to visit Moses in the wilderness. Jethro taught Moses some important lessons during their time together. See if you can spot them from the passage below:

^{13 -14} The next day Moses took his place to judge the people. People were standing before him all day long, from morning to night. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What’s going on here? Why are you doing all this, and all by yourself, letting everybody line up before you from morning to night?”

^{15 -16} Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me with questions about God. When something comes up, they come to me. I judge between a man and his neighbor and teach them God’s laws and instructions.”

^{17 -23} Moses’ father-in-law said, “This is no way to go about it. You’ll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can’t do this alone. Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They’ll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They’ll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases they’ll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you’ll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also.”

^{24 -27} Moses listened to the counsel of his father-in-law and did everything he said. Moses picked competent men from all Israel and set them as leaders over the people who were organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They took over the everyday work of judging among the people. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but in the routine cases they were the judges. Then Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law who went home to his own country.”

There are a lot of lessons here, but here’s a few things that stood out to me. First, Jethro taught Moses to delegate. It’s impossible for one person to do it all. Us men struggle greatly in this area because delegating responsibility isn’t something we’re naturally good at. To some, delegating seems like a sign of weakness because you’re admitting you can’t do it all. I’ve had managers and bosses and I’ve seen pastors and ministry leaders that had this mindset–it’s unhealthy and eventually leads to complete and utter failure.

The second lesson is a bit more subtle, but is the most important in my opinion. Jethro told Moses to surround himself with God-fearing men–men who loved God with all their heart and were loyal to the cause of Christ. This is why I love seeing a plurality of Elders in the church, because it takes the pressure and focus off the pastor being “the man” and distributes the responsibility to other godly leaders. There’s so many lessons that can be taken from this one point too, outside of leadership. As individuals, we should surround ourselves with other people in our lives that will keep us accountable, who will encourage us when we’re down and speak truth into our lives when we’re veering off course. The Christian life was never intended to be run alone.

Jethro spoke truth into Moses’ life, which I truly believe changed the course of history for Israel. It allowed other men to step up and become leaders–men like Joshua. But none of this would have happened had Moses not listened. As leaders in whatever aspect of our lives (church, workplace, home), we must listen to the advice and council of others around us. God used the simple words of a simple man named Jethro to change the course of Moses’ life–and it can change ours too.

What about you… do you have a hard time delegating? Ever find yourself running the race alone, trying to make it all work out on your own?

We can all learn a lot from Jethro.

Carrie and I recently learned about the Recycled Card Program that St. Jude’s has been doing for a long time now–recycling cards of all kinds to raise support for the children of St. Jude’s Ranch. This is an easy way to support a great organization, only for the cost of a few stamps. See below for more details and how to participate:

Over thirty years ago, wishing to show our donors appreciation for making St. Jude’s Ranch for Children possible, the idea was conceived for turning the previous year’s Christmas cards into “new” cards for the coming season. The recipients were so delighted with their unique “thank you,” they requested the children sell them the special cards. And so, the St. Jude’s Ranch Recycled Card Program was born.

Since then, the Program expanded to include all occasion greeting cards…just about anything that starts with a used greeting card front. People from all over the world have sent us their used card fronts!

The children participate in making the new cards by removing the front and attaching a new back. The result is a beautiful new card made by the children and volunteers. The benefits are two-fold: customers receive “green” holiday cards for use and the children receive payment for their work and learn the benefits and importance of “going green”.

The ongoing support for the Recycled Card Program has been overwhelming! The Program grew and soon we were receiving over one million cards. We temporarily suspended the Program while we redesigned the process to more efficiently manage the increased production from the increased volume.

Visit the St. Jude’s Ranch Website for more details

To Donate Cards:

Cards may be donated by sending them to:

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program
100 St. Jude’s Street
Boulder City, NV 89005

Almost 2 years ago now, God planted a seed in my heart for something huge, something too large for me, for my friend who has shared this same passion, and for our small church, LifePoint. Over the course of 2 years we’ve brainstormed over this, prayed about it and for whatever reason, it’s just never really taken flight. Maybe the timing hasn’t been right, maybe we aren’t the right people to get this off the ground, but this morning God re-awakened my passion and heart for this vision that He gave me several years ago. I think it’s time for me to let go of it and let it take flight and allow God to use it however He pleases.

I wish I had the ability to get it going myself, but I don’t, I need your help. It’s my hope that God will draw the right people to this page and that they will catch the same passion and heart that we have for all of this. When we initially started planning, we saw this as a ministry of LifePoint. And some day, it very well may be, but let me say from the start that we want no credit for this vision or for the far reaching implications and changed lives that may result. We give this vision back to God and ask Him to do His will and accomplish His purpose, whatever that may be and whatever that may look like. Perhaps there is someone reading this that knows how to make it all a reality, I don’t know.

Chances are, you have talents and resources we do not. Or if nothing else, you know of those that do or you may even be part of a church that does. If you feel God tugging at your heart to get involved with this, please take this model and show it to whoever you feel can help get the ball rolling. Undoubtedly, it’ll take developers, designers, writers, pastors, prayer warriors and just everyday people who are trying their best to live for Jesus and want to have an impact in the world around them.

I don’t even know where to start, or what the best way is to explain this, but if you’re still with me and want to know more, it may be best to start with a little back-story so you can understand where the following vision came from and what it was born out of. I wrote this a long time ago, but I hope it will give you an understanding of the vision God’s given us. Click here to read it. And while you’re reading it, please keep in mind that the original intent was for our church to launch this, so be thinking how you can use this idea or model in your own ministry. Once you’ve read this, hopefully the model below will make a little more sense.

The diagram above demonstrates your online website visitors, either to your church website or various ministries you’re a part of or possibly those people that stumble on your blog by accident, that are searching for answers. The steps below will describe what’s going on above in a little more detail and the people and organizations involved:

Step 1:
Design sites like whatsthepointoflife.com – filled with a visual representation of the gospel. Created with the sole intent of reaching the lost, hurting, and disillusioned with the hope of Jesus. Filled with practical (relative/relate-able) content, like videos (i.e. Nooma, Erwin McManus), discussion forums, live chat, etc. These could also be sites designed to address specific topics like divorce, death, sex, addictions, etc. People who are searching for answers may not go to a church website, but if there is contact there that catches the eye, there’s a good chance they’ll take the time to dig deeper.

Step 2:
Establish ContactPoints (web traffic helpers/communicators) who will reach out to these website visitors (PeoplePoints) to establish a relationship with them, provide resources, direction counseling, encouragement, etc. Our church receives many emails every month from people who are searching, who’ve accepted Christ or who have returned to Him as a result of listening to a sermon. If our little church of 150 has had this kind of impact, I’m sure larger ministries have seen this too. What are we doing to help these people? And if we are reaching out to them, does it go beyond surface level?

Step 3:
Establish ConnectionPoints globally (i.e. Missionaries, Tentmakers, Churches) that would be willing to go and meet one on one with our PeoplePoints to establish a personal relationship with them, point them to Jesus, help get them into ministry and ultimately help reach their friends and family with the gospel. This model may seem ‘social networking’ oriented, and it very well may be, but the core of it involves personal contact, something sorely lacking in today’s society. Most ministries focus on the areas surrounding them, which is totally fine, but what about the people that are impacted by your ministry in other parts of the country or even the world? Establishing these ConnectionPoints will help build a network of individuals and ministries that can meet them one on one, where they’re at.

Step 4:
Establish a very personal connection with our ConnectionPoints (mainly Missionaries and Tentmakers) to help fill the gaps that their mission boards and supporters at home often leave, and provide consistent, continual encouragement, resources and prayer. If you were in a foreign city with no family or friends or possibly even fellow Christians, you think you would have a hard time adjusting and adapting? Surely Missionaries have needs, more than financial ones that their mission boards cannot begin to fulfill. I’ve heard firsthand from so many who just desperately want personal contact and communication with people from home. This is just a side-step to all points above, but one I think is an integral part to all of this as well.

- – - – - – - – - -

This “model” may not be new, perhaps it’s been developed by much more talented individuals than us, but if it exists, we could not find it anywhere. The closest thing we did see were church CRM packages that help you get people in your doors… which is a good thing, but leaves a gaping hole. What about all the people that would never think to step foot in a church, no matter how convenient, casual or comfortable it is?

To some, I’m sure this all seems like a pipe dream and perhaps it is. I live in the south where there is literally a church on every corner, yet I’ve never seen churches work together to share God’s love. Never. Perhaps unity exists elsewhere, but I doubt it. For some reason our churches are in competition mode, striving to be bigger and better, offer more programs and activities. Be cool, be hip, be trendy. But is that the point? Is that what the great commission was all about? IS THAT THE CHURCH GOD INTENDED?

So like I said at the beginning, I don’t know what to do with all of this, but I felt God prompting me to at least get something out there. A cry for help if nothing more. In a perfect world I envision our churches working together to reach the world with the love of Christ. And no, I’m not talking about ushering in the Ecumenical Movement. I’m talking about doctrinally sound churches partnering together (despite perhaps, differences of non-stated Biblical preferences) to reach those who are actively searching for hope.

I know this has been a long post, I don’t know how to condense it. I’m horrible at this, I know. But I don’t know what else to do. This whole thing has been on my heart and mind for years now and I don’t know what to do with it. I feel like I’m just throwing up all over my blog, but I felt led to do it. If you have any ideas, or would like to take the torch and run with it, I would love to talk with you. You’ll find me on Twitter via @nathanduvall or you can email me here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

“You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant.” ~ Paul in II Timothy 4:3-5

In the past, I’ve written about my background and my upbringing in Fundamentalism and the legalism that went along with it. Over the last few years, God has shown me what it truly means to live for Him, in complete and total freedom. As odd as it may sound, this new found freedom in Christ has been a difficult one to simply accept. It’s been a constant battle of the heart and mind, of distinguishing the difference between conscience and true conviction. It’s a battle I face constantly.

Once God opened my eyes, He allowed me to see just how large His kingdom really is. The body of Christ is so much larger, looks and sounds so different than the narrow minded view I once had. I’ve had the privilege of getting to know so many pastors and ministry leaders who are seeking to change how we, as the ‘church’ relate to the world around us.

I believe this change is desperately needed. I also believe God inspired Paul to write these words to Timothy as a warning to us all—knowing that we would become focused on the package of the message, rather than the message itself.

Is there anything wrong with presenting the Gospel in a cool, hip or trendy way? Absolutely not.

Can we become distracted and go overboard with our presentation? Absolutely.

I think making God’s message ‘relate-able’ is both necessary and dangerous because we run the risk of watering the Message down so much that we’ve created a wishy-washy mess, so to speak, and void the Message of its power. I believe God can use anything and everything to bring the lost to Himself. He turned the water into wine, He can turn our half-hearted effort of sharing the Gospel into an explosion of His grace. I just found this passage in Timothy to be a poignant reminder of the responsibility we have in sharing His truth and “keeping the Message alive”.

Right now, my little 10-month old son is enthralled with the wrapping paper on the presents underneath the Christmas tree. He could care less what’s inside the box. What about you? Do you find yourself focusing more on the package than on the gift itself? I know I do.

I’m a big fan ruffling feathers when they need to be ruffled, this is one of them in my opinion… church boycotts. In recent memory, we’ve boycotted Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, The Golden Compass and Disney. Do these things contain or support “objectionable elements”? Sure, but what in this world doesn’t anymore? I can’t help but think Jesus must constantly be rolling his eyes at the idiots we (as His church) have become. ChurchMarketingSucks.com is one of the groups I follow on Twitter – their name itself is probably offensive to some, but if you’ve never heard of them, you’ve got to check them out. They posted this link this morning to a megachurch in Florida who replaced their Pepsi machines with Coke machines because of their support of the gay agenda.

Church boycotts are one of the things that have irritated me for a really long time. What purpose do they serve? Are they spurred by true, Spirit-led conviction or just by personal preference or simply out of fear? The bottom line is, the world is used to seeing the church act out of fear than it is out of love and compassion. Kevin Hendricks from CMS wrote an excellent article entitled Don’t Cause Unnecessary Offense,where he talks about the churches image and how we are hindering the spread of the gospel:

This ‘unnecessary offense’ is such a foreign concept, especially to a rights-driven Christian American like myself. The idea that I should compromise with people who I think are morally wrong is ridiculous. Yet Paul told us to become all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:22), that if something bothers somebody else we shouldn’t do it for their sake (1 Corinthians 8:13), that we are slaves to righteousness(Romans 6:18). So much for the land of the free. I think part of the issue is with the word ‘compromise’. Today compromise is a dirty word. But it’s possible to compromise and not sell out your beliefs. It’s possible to agree to disagree and still find enough common ground to move forward, without causing lightning bolts to fall from the sky.

Kevin’s right, the word “compromise” is probably the single most scary word to us Christians. You might as well be saying a 4-letter curse word. So is the point of this post just to say we should just roll over and let the “onslaught of wickedness” ensue? No. But as God’s been teaching me lately via Proverbs, we should be wise when we open our mouths, when we voice our opinions and call out the offenses of those we disagree with. Jesus was the perfect example of this during his ministry on earth… he was surrounded by murderers, thieves and whores yet the one group that He consistently and publicly spoke out against the most wasn’t any of those groups, but the religious of His day who thought they were carrying out His will.

God didn’t put us on this earth to point out every offense to the cause of Christ, nor vocally stand in opposition to those who support groups and agendas that we disagree with. Our sole purpose on this earth is to share the message of Jesus with the world. Somewhere along the line that purpose has gotten muddled and confused. I’m afraid we’re communicating anything but the message we were put here to communicate. We (the church) need to be rebuked, we need to be re-educated and we need to be reminded why we’re here, what our mission truly is and what it was never intended to be.

Your thoughts, as always, are welcome.

Phil delivered a great message to us at LifePoint Sunday… it was all about defining the church, and what it really is to us as Christians. He started off with a great illustration, one which I will attempt to duplicate for you here! ; )

This is not a trick question… please name the image you see below:

Yep, it’s a cat… what about this next one?

Correct, a dog. And the last one?

It’s a church, right? If you said it’s a “church” you would be incorrect ; ) Let me explain…

Is a church just someplace you go to on Sunday’s or is it something more? Is a church a building, with bricks and mortar and a steeple on top? As Phil shared with us from Acts 2, the church is not a place we go, but is who we are, as followers of Christ.

One of my earliest memories as a child is learning the finger game for describing a church… goes a little something like this (in case you’ve never heard it or have forgotten):

Here’s the church, (interlock your fingers and stick your thumb up for the steeple)

Here’s the steeple,

Open the door, (Pull palms apart leaving fingers intertwined for the roof)

Where’s all the people?

Here’s the church (interlock your fingers so the tips of fingers point down)

Here’s the steeple (stick up thumbs together)

Open the doors

There’s all the people!

Sure, it’s just a fun little kids rhyme, but even as harmless as it is, it’s teaching kids the incorrect definition of what “church” really is! Since we’ve been at LifePoint, this is one of the key lesson’s I’ve learned… that we don’t “go to church” but that we “are the church”. Consequently, we now refer to churches as “church buildings”. Semantics? Maybe so… but it always serves as a great reminder to me of what the church really is. And when you really let that sink in, it’ll change your whole perspective and help you understand the definition that Jesus really had in mind for his followers.

Man, how far we’ve strayed from this way of thinking! For as long as I can remember, I’ve wondered why churches are always trying to out-do one another and why more don’t partner together to reach those who need the love of Jesus. We’re not in a competition – we’re all striving for the same thing… or are we?! It seems churches today are more concerned with creating social clubs and activities for their members than reaching beyond the walls of their “church”. Where did we go wrong?

If you read the book of Acts, it’s pretty obvious what the church was intended to be and how it was to be operated, yet we’ve got all of these preconceived notions in our head of what church is, what it’s supposed to look like and sound like and act like. I think we need to take a good, hard look at the modern day church, take out a blank sheet of paper and start from scratch, using the book of Acts as our template.

I could keep rambling all day, but if you’re reading this and it’s sparked an interest in you, I’d encourage you to tune into this week’s Podcast, What Are You Devoted To – it really will open your eyes to what the church really is, and what our responsibilities are as a result.

Originally Written April 2008

Life is full of routine and monotony, the “daily grind”. We all experience it–it just comes in all different shapes and sizes. I think the same statement could be made about our churches and our ministries as well. If you look at the church as a whole, the same “tactics” (for lack of a better word) that were created in the early 20th century (i.e. revival, door to door visitation, passing out tracts) are, by and large, the same tactics most churches still use today. I’m not going to say that these methods no longer work, because God can use anything to accomplish his purpose. But I do think it’s time to re-think how effective these methods really are and what we can be doing to reach out to people in a way that’s relative to the modern day culture we’re a part of.

Over the last year or so, God’s been planting ideas in my mind along these lines. We have been working on re-designing our church website to make it a more effective means to reaching out to the community and to the world at large. We’ve never really been able to figure this out, but our church website is visited by thousands of people from all over the world every month. We’ve received emails from the UK, France, Germany, India and even remote places I’ve never heard of that are hundreds of miles out in the ocean–places like Mauritius, Seychelles and Vanuatu. We recently started adding pegs to a Google Map, just to get a visual for where all of these places are located. Check it out here, it’s pretty amazing. A lot of these people have accepted Christ as a result of reading our “Finding Peace” page or from listening to our Podcasts. Just recently we delved a little deeper to see how many people were downloading our Podcasts, and discovered that it was over 19,000 people just last month! We were absolutely blown away by that as you can imagine… especially since our church consists of around 150.

So it was about this time last year when I created that map and it was at that same time God started working in my heart and planting seeds in my mind. I was taking a shower one morning, and just started thinking about all the people from around the world that were contacting us… this was all really great, but could we be doing any more to help them? Was there any way we could reach more people who were searching… maybe that wouldn’t necessarily go to a “church” website? And how could we really reach someone half a world a way to establish a connection, help them grow in the Lord, answer their questions, or point them to a good church? Getting our people actively involved with the website ministry would be a start, but for whatever reason, I just felt like we needed to be patient and wait on God’s timing.

A few months ago I was meeting with my pastor and in the course of conversation he told me how he felt God was leading our church to go on a mission’s trip. He didn’t know where or even when, but he knew God just wanted us to pick a date and that he would fill in the details. So a few Sunday’s ago, we announced this to the church, and also unveiled the new website we’d been working on for the last year or so. Right after the service, I was talking with my friend Ben and God just sort of led the conversation back to that idea we had been talking about over the last year… what we could do with our site visitors.

While we were talking, we both just started to sense God’s calling again… that the timing was right, that the door was now open, especially with our church focusing on missions. Since then God’s been pulling back the clouds and giving us a vision for what he really has in store for us. It’s enormous, complex… but simple all at the same time. It’s something so obvious that we know it could only be of God. So if you’re still with me and if I haven’t lost you, here’s the start of the ministry idea God’s given us…

[Edited 12/18/09] It starts with you, your blog/website, your Twitter/Facebook page, your churches website, etc. Our original thought was to purchase domains like whatsthepointoflife.com and several others that would provide answers and help to those looking for it, but we never had time or resources to develop them. To this point they’ve just be redirecting to our “Finding Peace” page on lifepointsc.org. Should you or your ministry be interested in taking them on and developing them for this ministry, please contact me. [/End Edit] The last time we pulled the traffic on some of these sites, we were getting hundreds of unique visitors a month. That’s pretty cool in and of itself, but still not convinced? That’s ok, check this out… on Wednesday of last week we received an email from a girl in Minnesota. She Googled “What’s the point of life”, found our site and sent us the following email:

I need help.
Iv been strugling with so much for way to long.
How do I know hes real?
My boyfriend is very advanced in his faith..
He says when he prays..he can feel that god is there..feel his presence…how come I can’t?
I try SO hard.
I really honestly..would love to know the point to life…and heaven..not that it doesnt sound great.. or life isn’t all that bad..
This is how I see things…
Ok.. im here.. im having a good time.. so what? what does that matter?
what does that mean?
If there is an afterlife…then what? I mean.. is there really a point to it all?
I feel so numb..
I wish I could convince myself that there is a point…and god has a plan that I as a human being..can not understand.
But I can’t, this question takes up all my energy, time, and happiness.
It isn’t healthy…
PLEASE please if anyone can help me..

Thank you,
Jane

HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT US?:
I googled “whats the point of life?”

WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED?:
Brainerd, MN, US

Needless to say this email threw an oil tanker on the fire God already lit in our hearts. Everywhere we turn, He provides us with more confirmation that this is from Him and something He wants us to do. Obviously, we’re in the very beginning stages of thinking through the websites. We want them to be extremely visual, yet simple representations of the gospel, using lots of images and videos to help us address key issues like “Is there really a God”, “Is there life after death”, but ultimately pointing them to the Point of Life, Jesus.

So where do we go from here? Well, this is the cool part and the biggest, scariest part for me. [Step 1] We feel God wants us to start making “ContactPoints” globally. In other words, establishing relationships with missionaries, tent-makers, other churches… and yes, even other churches here in the US!

Wait, pause for a second… can we do that? Are we allowed to partner with other churches of like faith to help accomplish the same goals? It’s never really been done on this scale before (that we know of)… but that’s a topic for another discussion. ; )

So, once someone makes contact through our church website or through whatsthepointoflife.com through these websites or various other ways, we’ll work to establish a relationship with them and help answer any questions they have and help council them in the certain issues they’re facing. Ultimately though, the goal is to point them to one of our ContactPoints (or vice versa) who will meet them one on one and help accomplish all of the above, only face-to-face and potentially even have an open door to reach out to their family and friends.

Establishing these ContactPoints is going to be the tough part, but think about it for a second… all of us know a missionary family in another part of the world, or someone in a church in another part of the country. At this point, I feel like this ministry will grow simply by word of mouth or through our little “spheres of influence”.

[Step 2] From there, I feel like God really wants us to establish a working relationship with our ContactPoints, in particular, the missionaries and tent-makers serving in another country to help “bridge the gap” that their mission boards and supporters often leave. We want to keep in constant contact with them, and be there to provide consistent encouragement and prayer. We also want to help by providing them with the resources they need to make their ministry more effective.

[Step 3] And then last, but certainly not least… once we have these “models” in place, we want to offer them to other churches and ministries of like faith so they can begin to reach beyond the walls of their own church and ministry. We don’t want any of this to be exclusive to LifePoint. If any of this is ever going to be effective, it’s going to require people from all walks of life from all over the place to come alongside and help us. We will need designers, developers, missionaries, churches, and just average people who have a heart for God and a passion to help people, who are lost and hurting.

So you may be reading this, thinking it sounds great and all, but don’t think you can never make a difference like this for God? Think again. Ever feel like you’re just floating along in life with no real direction or purpose? Do you know the Lord, but still have an aching in your heart that a great job, a nice house or love hasn’t truly satisfied? Even those of us that know God can easily forget the point of life. We go looking for the same things the world does to satisfy us, but why, when we know the only source of true happiness and satisfaction is found in completely surrendering to God and his will for our lives?

So my purpose for writing all of this is two fold. First, I want to ask each of you for your prayers as we embark on this journey God has called us to. Pray that God will continue to show us his will and that he would make it obvious to us.

Secondly, I’m writing this to encourage each of you. You may be sitting at work reading this note wondering in the back of your mind what you’re really doing there. You may be sitting on the couch at home, amongst the screaming kids, wondering if you’ll ever make a difference. I just want to encourage each of you to be faithful. God has us where we are for a specific reason. Pray that he will show you how to minister where you already are, first, then oftentimes He’ll pull back the clouds and show you something even greater. One of my best friends gave me some great advice the other day… he said the formula for finding God’s will for your life is simple: patience + faithfulness. So be faithful where God has you right now and be patient and wait on God. It’s as simple and uncomplicated as that.

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this today. I know it was a long explanation, but I really felt like God wanted me to share all of this with you, for whatever reason. If you have any other questions about this, don’t hesitate to email me. Thanks in advance for your support and prayers!

~ Nathan

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