Exciting Times in Ministry
Ministry has really become exciting of late, more than it normally is anyway. There has been a lot going on, along with some things in the works, and they have left me with a good feeling about where I am in life right now and the direction that God is taking me and Trailblazin Ministries.
A lot of the more recent happenings started a couple weeks ago, especially in terms of what’s about to take place at Trailblazin Ministries, but I will get to that in a moment. First, I want to talk about the opportunity I had this past weekend. It all started last Tuesday (April 22nd) when I got an instant message from my pastor; he was letting me know that there was a teaching opportunity at another church available for that Sunday if I was available. Not having anything planned, I accepted the invitation to preach at Gulf Coast Bible Church in Sweeny, TX. It was to fill in for their current pastor who had just had surgery and wasn’t able to preach from the pulpit that week. So, we (the wife and kids) made the 3 hour drive down to Sweeny on Saturday afternoon and had dinner with the pastor (Pastor Emil Schmidt) and his wife. It was a blessed time of introducing ourselves to one another and allowing him to share some of his ministry experience with me (I walked away with some Greek flash cards that he had done years ago).
After spending the night at another couple’s house, I got to the church and preached during both morning services. I didn’t teach anything new, as I taught my Romans 1:16 and Civilian Affairs studies. I was able to finish both messages right on time with the schedule he had given me, and I was able to get through my entire outline without any troubles. I even felt a lot more comfortable in the pulpit this time around; I was more comfortable in my speech (at least it felt that way) and I was overall more relaxed. I got several compliments afterwards and everyone seemed to enjoy the teaching, which is always good (that they enjoyed the teaching, but the compliments aren’t bad either LOL). Once we had lunch at another family’s house, we were back on the road to the ATX, where we were able to get back in town in time for me to still make it to my Greek class (much to Robin and the kids’ displeasure).
Anyway, that’s that. The point of my sharing that was just to relay the opportunity that the Lord provided, as well as noting my growing level of comfortability.
This next piece is something that is really getting me excited though, as it is marking the growth of Trailblazin Ministries. About a week or so ago, I had posted in the TM forum that I was thinking about starting an Old Testament survey devotion series alongside the James series I was already teaching and asked for feedback. Most people were excited about it, but there were a few that cautioned me about taking on too much and burning out, which I definitely took to heart. With that, some people even expressed interest in helping to write and make that happen. Couple that with a message from a friend suggesting that I ask people from the forum to become writers for the site and do that series, and and idea was starting to grow. That weekend, I was online speaking with Antoine and just discussing the idea and I had made mention that I wasn’t too sure about just bringing people on and not knowing what their doctrinal background was, and so forth. Hearing that, he mentioned the idea of discipling people so that there can be a level of agreement and accountability for anyone who wants to become a writer. I really liked the idea, and from there we really started to brainstorm some ideas.
After about an hour or so of brainstorming, the idea for a Trailblazin Ministries discipleship program was born and a lot of the beginning stages were already set to go. From there, I drew up the purpose and objectives, and then bounced the idea off my brain trust of believers (including my pastor and one of the deacons from the church). Everyone seemed to think it was a great idea and offered additional feedback, so the project was on! So, right now I’m putting together the website and curriculum material for the first batch of people who are going to go through this training program in order to become Trailblazin Ministries staff writers.
Now, before I get ahead of myself, what is for? The basic premise of the program (officially named Trailblazin Ministries – Steps Discipleship Training) is to make sure that there is a certain level of doctrinal agreement amongst the staff (so that we can be like minded), that they know how to properly study and exegete the Scriptures, and how to accurately relay the truth of God’s Word through written communication.
I’m really looking forward to getting this launched some time in May and seeing where the Lord takes it. I can already see how the Lord can and will use it to fulfill the site’s mission statement of training up disciples who will train others, as well as increasing the depth of content on the website from more than one lone individual (myself). So, keep that in prayer if you could, and look to hear an official announcement concerning it when the time is right.
So, between the both of those things, the Lord is really blessing in my life and I can’t help but to want to see what He has in store for me next!
