It’s not my thing

First off, be careful what you pray for. I prayed that God would give me the opportunity to write, and now I am writing more than I have ever written. I’m writing multiple blog posts a day for multiple people/organizations. I’ve got more to write than I have time to write. And so far, I’m loving it.

I’m writing pretty much once a day for AndroidGuys, and another post per day for SmarterWatching. I was also just added to their ChromeWatching site.

I write a weekly post for SupplyShield, and one for Radius Church. In the near future I will post 1-2 times a week for HaydenHomeTeam Property Management. I just have to figure out how to fit it into my schedule.

I’m also writing several manual for a local granite and marble company where I have been working part time.

And of course, I try to track everything that’s happening here once a week, but that’s proven to be more difficult than I thought. On the bright side, for you, these posts will likely get shorter, or perhaps I should say, more focused and concise.

Insert your own segue here.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Catalyst conference in Atlanta, GA. Catalyst is a church leadership conference. My good friend, Blake, pastor of Radius Church, asked Mike, friend of Rob and Blake, and me to go with him.

You know these conferences; a bunch of people packed into a huge arena to hear live music, pastors, church leaders, motivators, and amazing speakers talk for a couple of days. I’ve been to these before. And somehow, I always seem to forget how impactful they can be.

Speaker after speaker blew us away with their insight, wisdom, and humor. All three of us took something unique away from the conference, but I want to share an idea that offers all of us a little slice of comfort. It wasn’t even anything that was spoken from stage, but came out of a conversation the three of us had as we were reviewing our notes.

It’s not my thing.

As Christ followers; those people who are making an attempt at turning from their sins and following God’s plan for their life, we must recognize that we are, in fact, following God’s plan for our life. He’s got it all figured out. We can make all the plans in the world, but at the end of the day, we have to recognize that, “it’s not my thing.”

I look at it like this,

I’m a volunteer. I love to help people without asking for anything in return. If I could do all the writing I am doing for free, I would (actually, I guess I am doing a lot of it for free, or very little pay). Unfortunately, I have bills to pay. But, when I can volunteer, I do.

Why?

Aside from helping people, and the personal fulfillment, it’s not my thing. I’m just there to help. Someone else is in charge. It’s someone else’s responsibility to see to the success or failure of the thing. The weight is off me. I just show up, do what they ask me to do, and whatever happens, happens.

It’s the same thing in ministry (see also, life). We are called to do the good work God has prepared for us to do (sound familiar?).

We’re volunteers.

If we do what God has called us to do, and only one person shows up on Sunday, then guess what? God really wants to talk to that one person. Likewise, if we do what God has called us to do and 1,000 people show up, then God wants to speak to 1,000 people that day.

If we are talking to all of our friends and family about our faith and no one seems to be listening – It’s not my thing.

If the words we write spread out across the internet and people are coming to know God left and right – It’s not my thing.

If that one person who you just know could do great things if they would just hand their life over to God doesn’t – It’s not my thing.

If closing that big deal would solve all your financial problems, and the deal falls through – It’s not my thing.

If the deal goes through – It’s not my thing.

Let go of the pressure the world tries to put on us. All that concern, all that worry, and all the fear are only there to get in the way of our relationship with the one Dude who has it all under control. The success or failure of the church is not based on anything we do. It’s based on God. When we try to manipulate people and situations, we are playing God. Likewise, our personal successes and failures have nothing to do with us. Success and Failure are events, not people (OK, that one I stole from the conference).

Spoiler: God has already won.

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

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