I was being accused. I was being threatened.
I did not know what my future held. Nor the future of my family.
But one thing I did know: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
So to Him I turned my thoughts, my prayers, and my heart.
For five days I spent time away with the Lord. By myself. Reading the Bible. Praying. Singing praises. Writing prophetic words.
My desire was to catch God’s heart.
To hear His voice in the midst of the unknown.
To still my heart.
To submit my plans and hopes to Him.
To get myself to a place that no matter what people did to me, no matter what people said about me, I would remain faithful to who God called me to be.
To be clear, I held to the highest levels of integrity and honesty. I was, and still am, deeply in love with my wife. I had broken no laws.
During these five days, these three words rang out:
Raw. Real. Radical.
I believe that God was stripping back everything that I was being told was important.
RAW.
Don’t worry about the flashy things. Keep it simply about God’s Word, the Bible. Focus on prayer and worship. Instruct on hearing the voice of God and the promptings of Holy Spirit.
Church leadership had seemed, at least to me, to become more about the leader than about Jesus. More about hype than the Presence of God. More about the ‘brand’ than holy living.
I felt that God was reminding me to keep things RAW. To remain RAW. And to ensure that moving forward, no matter how that was to look, that ministry would be RAW in nature.
REAL.
This has always been important to me.
But once again, I had been encouraged to lead in such a way which was not me.
The Bible is enough! Be open with people and allow people, even encourage them, to express their faults, their joys, their weaknesses, their struggles. And walk with them through their hurts towards wholeness in Christ Jesus.
Don’t lead in such a way as to make leadership seem unattainable.
Don’t lead to make people feel inferior or second rate.
Don’t lead separate to people (green rooms and the like). Lead among people. Walk with them. Be part of what God is doing rather than being above it.
RADICAL.
Be intentionally radical.
Choose to be uncomfortable.
Choose to stay uncomfortable.
Expect that God will show up when the saints gather. It will likely be something that makes you uncomfortable, but (as long as it isn’t extra Biblical) let God do His thing.
Allow people to speak out. Encourage people to come to the front of your gatherings to speak. Encourage children to minister and to bring a word from the Lord.
And after the children have shared what God has spoken, don’t “mansplain” it. Let their words be enough.
Be willing for things to be messy.
Expect the unexpected.
Stay hungry for more.
These three words solidified who God was calling me to be.
And it resonates with those who call our church home. Those locally, and those interstate.
Perhaps this is what God expects from all of His children…
They remained with me through the next few harrowing months where my world was turned upside down.
RAW. REAL. RADICAL
In Christ,
Ben
