Why We Do What We Do
I won’t lie to you. Ministry is tough. Gut-wrenching. At times, depressing. Often thankless. There is no need to pretend that what I do is glamorous or easy. For some people in ministry, I guess, they have insulated themselves so deeply from contact with people that they may never have to experience these emotions. But for anyone that is truly called by God, working in His harvest fields, they will get their hands dirty and their hearts trampled by serving a broken and sinful world, a world of which they as ministers are also a part of (may I add, also participants in the ugliness and sinfulness of it all).
So WHY do I do it? Why spend so many nights away from my family? Why drive and fly hundreds of thousands of miles? Why ignore the stubborn cough that will not go away and pack my bag for the next preaching opportunity anyway? Why board the plan when I would sometimes rather sleep in?
There are multiple reasons. God called me to do this. I love doing it. I would be miserable doing anything else. The good far outweighs the bad. I can see the fruit of the Spirit in people’s lives. All of these are reasons. But then every once in a while, you see an actual tangible life-change take place, and all the theoretical reasons for following Jesus become practical.
This weekend at our Crossroads Winter Conference, great things happened. The students raised $7,000 for missions in India. The workshops and worship services were encouraging, challenging, and relevant. Dozens of people were saved and many more surrended to a sense of calling to missions and ministry. But there was this one thing that happened, and it reminded me of why we do what we do.
A family in the church we belong to, Broad River Community Church, is hosting a German exchange student. She attended our Winter Conference with the students from our church. She is a sweet young lady with an eternal smile and looks like any other American girl. She heard the gospel on Saturday morning, not for the first time, but for the first time, she believed it. She boldly repented of her sins. She stood to her feet in a room with nearly 1,00 people in it. The lights were on. There was no music playing. And everyone had their eyes OPEN. And she stood to her feet to confess publicly that she believed Christ was the living savior and Lord of the universe, and her life.
Afterward she came to me to express her thanks for what we do at Crossroads. She said she was so happy she did not know how to express it. And while I am thankful that she is now a believer, I am equally thankful that she lives with a family and in a community of believers that will take her discipleship seriously, pouring into her mind and heart the truths of the gospel before she returns to Germany.
So why do we do it? Not for the money. Not for the glory. We do it for her and the millions of people on earth who have yet to experience the unspeakable joy of meeting the living God personally and being reconciled to Him by faith.
And we intend to keep on doing it.
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:22 am
Hey Clayton, I was looking over your blogs to see if there is anything we can use for our HG eblast, and I read this entry. That is an amazing testimony. You are making such a difference. On the down side, sometimes this question (why am I doing this?) looms larger than life when you’re living out your God-given purpose. It is a haunting question that must be answered over and over again. I pray always I will settle on the answer that moves me forward.
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:51 am
Hey man, sounds like a good event…as I am racking my brains out at 3:00 in the morning thinking and praying about creating a great environment for our Winter Breakaway we will have to check out Crossroads next year. Brooke Overholt raves over it.
On the topic of why we do what we do…at the expense of peddling my website I got reflective about my first impression of YM 15 years ago…if you have time check it out.
http://www.seanrheaume.typepad.com/blog/2008/01/my-first-impres.html
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 am
Clayton,
You know why you do what you do, It is for all the perks. The leer jet, the lavish 5 star hotels, the gourmet restaurants, and fame. Right? Just poking fun at you, light hearted fun! I for one and I amsure many others would like to let you and all the pastors who have influenced our lives that we appreciate why you do what you do. You do what you do because we need you and people like you. We need peeple to be leaders, bold and unshaken by criticism. We need an encouraging word and sometimes just a swift kick in the rear. You guys provide this earthly motivation to all of us. May God continue to bless your ministries and others. Thank you all and please let us know if there is anyhting we can do as God’s faithful service to make your lives easier. Thanks again.
January 24th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Hi Clayton, I’m a friend of J.D.’s and a college minister at a local university, and I wanted to thank you for this post. I just got home from basically getting hammered into a fine dust by some of the people I work with today, so I am feeling pretty low. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone in the trenches. Being a minister can be a little challenging sometimes.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Sharon, thanks for your honesty. I have a little saying…if you do not want to quit at least once a week, then you are no longer in ministry. Once it gets easy and predictable, we have moved away from serving God and others, because if we are serving, we are getting hammered, and dirty, and stepped on, and worn out. What a blessing to serve The Lord…