He’s never too late, He’s never too busy, and He’s never too burdened to step into the pain of our desperation. Sometimes, He has to bring us into desperation in order for us to diligently seek Him. That’s the whole point of this life and yet we are often too consumed with the crowd, the cash and the climate to really stop and focus on our ultimate and preeminent King. That’s too bad, because when it comes down to it, every solution for brokenness, our pain and neediness is no more than a touch away.

In an era when we idolize “big,” God challenges us to live a lowercase life, putting others before ourselves, giving rather than taking, serving rather than demanding, and dying to self rather than living for self. And it all begins with the first word of the greatest sermon:

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Who celebrates poverty of spirit? It is rarely even pursued. Yet, this one singular striving for less, has enormous benefits for the one who seeks it. Always little.

Little — be always little! Be simple, poor, childlike. Preach the Gospel with your life — without compromise! Listen to the Spirit. He will lead you.. Do little things exceedingly well for love of Me. Love… love… love, never counting the cost Go into the marketplace and stay with Me. Pray, fast. Pray always, fast. Be hidden. Be a light to your neighbor’s feet. Go without fear into the depth of men’s hearts. I shall be with you. Pray always.
Catherine Doherty’s Little Mandate

Entering his presence. At the feet of Jesus, you discover the beauty of emptiness and dynamic dependance on God. At His feet you discover that you really don’t need anything but the power of holy communion with him and His mysterious church. At His feet, we discover a perspective that transforms our daily, normal existence into a transcendent celebration of God’s grace. Even in the littleness of today, we discover broken bread and poured wine at a table where little ones are welcomed.

Better is one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Psalm 84:10

Melting our motives. When we recognize our spiritual poverty, we begin to understand the absurdity of our own dwarfed dreams. We rise above the clamor of ambition, wealth, and shadowy motives. We begin to understand that we when we stray, we tend to cast ourselves in the leading role of life and leave the Hero in the wings.

Purposing your heart. Carson McClures entitled her novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. She could have stopped with that one sentence. It says so much. Since the first day, our heart is hunting for love, purpose, safety, and belonging. One look into His eyes of Jesus, one glimpse of His glory, compels the heart to run to Him.

Trusting in his provision. The striving ends when we begin to trust the first truths in childlike wonder: He’s got the whole world in his hand. We have the honor of observing God’s work if we let go, and let Him do what he does best. He’s been at this a long time. We can trust that he knows best.

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee
And Thy beauty fills my soul
For by Thy transforming power
Thou hast made me whole
Oh, how great Thy loving kindness,
Vaster, broader than the sea
Oh, how marvelous Thy goodness
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,
Know what wealth of grace is Thine
Know Thy certainty of promise
And have made it mine
Jesus, I am resting, resting
Jean Sophia Pigott 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Yearning for his purpose. Once we are empty, God has room to work. He will carry us to our purpose which is, in truth, His purpose.

There may be a time in life when one is tired of everything and feels as if all one does is wrong, and there maybe some truth in it- do you think this is a feeling one must try to forget and to banish, or is it ‘the longing for God,’ which one must not fear, but cherish to see if it may bring us some good? Is it ‘the longing for God’ which leads us to make a choice which we never regret? Let us keep courage and try to be patient and gentle. And not mind being eccentric, and make distinction between good and evil.
Vincent Van Gogh

In many churches, you’ll find these personalities. They are often masters at knocking you off course. Your ability to identify their shadow mission and stand firm in your stated mission will determine your faithfulness to be a God-pleaser and not a man-pleaser. Keep in mind that they are important to God. They will cause you to grow in your faith, if they don’t cause you to lose your mind.

Ira the Ice Man: Ira resists change, no matter how small and he has lots of friends in Baptist churches. He loves the status quo.

Perhaps he got the message long ago that change is bad so he fights change in church and because Ira’s faith is very important to him he fights with even more vigor. The tough thing about Ira is that he doesn’t express his feelings openly and many times he sends coded messages such as rolling eyes and long sighs which sometimes can make a greater impact on the joy of the church than mere words.

Butch the Bulldozer expresses his negativity by running over churchmembers and ministers. He (or she) can be very hostile and instinctually takes out frustrations on others. It’s my way or the highway!

Betty the Blamer refuses to take responsibility for her own actions or provide solutions to church challenges Betty has a tendency to simply respond to crisis by looking for someone to blame.This most frequestly occurs when the Blamer is in a bad mood.

Her favorite saying when things go bad is “Don’t look at me. Jerry is the problem.”

Martin the Martyer is the bleeding heart of the church. He comes early is usually the last one to leave the church. He bend over backwards but will later complain about how much he is responsible for and how little others actually do. Martin’s attitude toward his brothers and sister’s in Christ is that he feels unappreciated. When this occurs, his favorite saying is “I’ve slaved for years at this church and nobody really cares.”

Bert the Busybody takes out his negativity toward work by spreading rumors. He pushes his power of information to the limit by seeming to have the latest scoop on the trial and temptations of others. Bert loves to add comentary to his information saying, let me tell you what is REALLY going on here. This gives Bert a sense of control and importance but it is a malignant blight on the health of the church.

Percy Perfect and when it comes to continual dissatisfaction we can always count on Percy Perfect! If something is not perfect, the Percy becomes negative. His standards for proper results and behavior are not realistic, and even excellent ministry that is blessed and applauded by others leaves Percy with a sour taste in his mouth and a frown on his face. For instant Percy helped coordinate an evangelistic event where 15 students accepted Christ but he couldn’t help but ask who left a scuff mark on the gym floor.

Know them, recognize them, love them, but don’t quit because of them. Your job as a leader is important.

Jesus constantly encountered desperate people. Desperation drew Him to them. One such example is a story of the mess on the descending switchback path from the Mount of Transfiguration. A father who ran out of options, platitudes, and solutions begged Jesus to heal his son. You can hear the emotions behind the words, “If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us!” Jesus says to the father, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” And the father replies, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

It seems like a dichotomy- I believe. Help my unbelief. But that’s the case for all of us. The state that we’ve entered is called “Unknowing.” It was incorporated about 6000 years ago just east of Eden’s spender. But it’s always been there. I’ve often stood at the border, one foot in Unknowing and the other in Faith. I’m amazed how connected these two provinces are. Faith is a state we aspire to enter with grace and certainty. Unknown is a wind-beaten dustbowl. It’s the badlands of spirituality that is often ignored but where many saints have spent days, even years. We believe we can change. We believe in the breakthrough of grace. On the other hand, we are often blind to the healing hand of God. It’s both. I believe. Help my unbelief. Note that Jesus didn’t say, “I’ll heal you once you believe 100%. Jesus met the father right where he was. He met him right in the middle of the land of Unknowing. Lean in to the truth that He is willing to meet you there also. 

There’s something going on in the heart of every person. It’s universal. It escorts us nightly through vivid three-dimensional dreams. It draws into dark rooms to observe the flickering lights of a movie. We turn pages filled with words that transport us to undiscovered experiences. This is the power of story. God created us for story. That’s why He gave us a Book. It’s filled with a cast of characters that inform us of the nature of life in all its aspects. Heroes, villains, guides, and dramatic arcs… They’re all there. Consider the incredible story of the orphan queen Esther.

The Role of the Villain: Haman

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Esther 3:5

Haman is the classic villain. He lusts for power and payback. Cursed with a sort of familiar narcissism, he longs to be the leading character. He plots with stealth, abhorring correction or criticism. Just like Haman, the narcissist in your life wants the glory. He saturates his conversations with talk of his importance. He relies heavily on alternative facts that are shallow, baseless and usually pointless. He’s ruthlessly at work creating allies and desires to control both the people and the narrative. We can all related to a villain like this and most people have a few of them in their personal world. Villains in your story will always challenge your loyalty.

The Role of the Guide:  Mordecai

When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, ¹³ he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:12

Like the wise Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mordecai sees the big picture and challenges Esther to rise beyond her own insecurities, fears and apprehensions. He calls her to adventure. We all need someone to call us out of our normal world into a divine saga. Everyone needs that voice in their lives to challenge us to be more than we thought we could be. When villains are pulling strings we all need a faithful Mordecai. Everyone needs wise counsel. 

His words to Esther were engraved in immortality. “For such a time as this…” Grand moments are rare and often come unexpectedly. And when they come, the hero seizes them. A hero must nurture an expectant heart willing to strike at the right time. Sometimes destinies are lost because we’d rather watch television.

The Role of Prayer

¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.
Esther 4:15-17

Prayer comes before action. Divine intervention triggers divine action. The gods of Rome and Greece were fickle aberrations. King, queens and pawns were subject to the whims of the lusts and moods of their gods. Our faith is in the God who calls us into the adventure. But not as a lone warrior. He bids us into partnership. Prayer becomes our connecting point.

*One other interesting fact: The rabbis of the Talmud suggest that during this time of fasting and prayer, Esther’s recurring context and motif as she prayed was this: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me.” Also the length of the fast- three days- further links the plight of salvation from Haman to the plight of our own salvation accomplished through Jesus.

The Mystery of Divine Intervention

That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.Esther 6:1

There is an unseen hand that sculpts the story. He wakes people up in the middle of the night to do his work. The people prayed and a king had insomnia. So what does a king do when he’s awake in the middle of the night? He wants to read about himself. Because of this biographical work, the king discovers that the outsider, the rebel who refused to follow the party line, Mordecai, is actually a hero.

The Unexpected Twist

⁶ When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?”Esther 6:6-7

Every great story has a hairpin turn where black is suddenly white and white is suddenly black. The dialogue is filled with humor and ironic consequence. Haman assumes all the wrong things, as villains usually do in great stories. All the accolades Haman suggests to the king end up in the lap of Mordecai. And all the plans Haman had for Mordecai end up on the head of himself.

The Triumphant End

¹⁵ When Mordecai left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of of Susa held a joyous celebration.

The day of gallows and glory is coming. Those who have suffered unjustly will be vindicated. And those who prefer the role of villain will receive the fruit of their foiled mission. We all have a choice as to which role we will play.

It’s not fair to the larger story for you to wait in the wings by putting down the sword, remaining stuck, fearful and distracted, when there is a world of adventure right outside the door of your iron and moated castle. The adventure is yours. Go get some!

We are all in transition. But the transitions that mark our destiny and create our story are the ones that are thrust upon us by the Creator of a greater narrative we call redemption. These transitions whisper to us when we feel the malaise of discontent and stagnation. They seek us out in the wilderness and transcend us into a different level of purpose. We see this early on in the story of Moses. Here are five traits we discover on the road to transformation and destiny.

Patience

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Exodus 3:1

Success doesn’t happen overnight. Most of the overnight successes include 10-year-long nights. Moses’ night lasted 40 years in the dumpy fixer-upper known as the backside of the desert. I’ve been in these well-worn dogleg paths of the human experience but never for forty years. Patience will ultimately sustain you during transitions. We see Moses and his subordinates (dust-beat, bleating monotones called sheep.) There’s nothing like working for your father in law to level out any narcism loitering in the corridors of your soul. Ask Moses when you see him. Patience will win out if you give it time., And patience always requires time.

Perception

² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”  Exodus 3:2

It’s interesting to note that Moses got a call from the Lord because he was curious enough to check out was going on around him. God looks for those who are curious. He wants investigators who are willing to forget their sheep and focus in on the anomalies they encounter.

Purpose

¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10

Every leader has a Pharaoh in their future. We all have obstacles and ogres that God wants us to conquer. It’s your purpose and when you are called to fight, you’d better grab your moment, because it’s why you were created. 

Promise

And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.” Exodus 3:17

Every transition has a purpose and every purpose has a prize. Also note that the prize includes a handful of enemies to overcome. I don’t know. Your Hittites may be an emotional disorder. Your Perizzites may be your chronic illness. Your Amorites might be your addictions. You have been created to overcome those squatters living in the land of your future victories.  Just trust that the Milk and Honey of the Kingdom will be worth the fight. Take the fight to the enemy. In the end, you are destined to overcome. 

Power

 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
Exodus 4:2

God takes the things you have and makes them holy and powerful. Trust whatever is in your hand. A pen, a hammer, a stethoscope, a paint brush… They are  tools that can transcend into the implements of the Divine. 

So now… It’s a long journey. Get some rest. Take your vitamins and when the sun rises, get after it. It’ll be well worth the trouble. 

I absolutely believe that most churches long to be welcoming to first-time guests and new attendees. But there is a gaping chasm between having a desire to reach people and doing the things that must be done to reach people. Here is a dare, if you will: Ask yourself these 14 questions. Some of them are hard to answer, especially for a longtime member. When you’re are a part of one church culture for years, blind spots happen. These questions are laser surgery for culture cataracts. 

• How cluttered is your space?

It’s easy to overlook the useless items laying around your church. Whether it is a Christmas tree in late February unsuccessfully hidden behind a fundraising display that ended two weeks ago or a number of bulletins from past Sundays on your pews ready and willing to confuse the members and visitors alike, take a look around and cut out the clutter. 

• Who’s the first person they will encounter?

You can’t overestimate first impressions. So, be purposeful about your greeting strategy. Make sure that you train your greeters. They must be focused on spotting new people and making them feel at home. By the way, if the first person who speaks to them is the pastor in his sermon, that first-time guest will not be back. 

• What will you give them?

Your first-time guests should never leave the building empty handed. Find something with value to give them. Ideas might include, a jar of jam, a coffee cup or anything else that works in the context of your culture. 

• How does your church smell (really)?

I remember a line from a movie a few years back where a teenager commented on a friend’s house: “Her whole house smells like soup.” This was nota compliment. Did you know that the sense of smell has a longer brain shelf-life that any other of the five senses? Think about the smells you remember from your childhood. So, if your church smells musty, funky, or like your grandmother’s mothball clothes closet, you might want to have a meeting about it. 

• Do you have a plan to get their information in a noninvasive way?

Find a way to connect through an information card that you invite them to turn in at the welcome center or in the offering plate. Ask what kind of information they want to receive and how they want to receive it. Insure them that you’ll protect their privacy with the information they give you. But don’task for information if you are unwilling to follow-up with them. 

• Does your church know the drill?

Welcoming is an everybodything. Find opportunities other than a worship service to inform people the welcoming plan and invite them to join you in the strategy. 

• Must they meet your expectations?

Are there some unwritten rules in your church such as dress, ethnicity, tattoos, hairstyle, car model and year? If these rules exist, growth for your church will not only be difficult but heretical. Don’t expect people to fit your cookie cutter. Jesus never did and to do so would place you in contradiction to the Great Commission. Here’s our rule for clothes: wear them. 

• Can they understand you?

Every church has a lexicon of religious terms or phrases. Mae sure you speak clearly and stay away from useless religiosity. In other words, be real.

• What’s the follow-up plan?

If you don’t know it, you don’t have one. There are plenty to choose from and there are lots of resources to use for training, but you must have a plan that works for your church.

• Have you prayed for connections?

Chance encounters don’t just happen at church. We pray them into existence. As leaders, pray for opportune times to connect and get beyond the, “Glad to see ya!” level of interaction. 

• Will they know what you’re about?

At the very minimum someone should say something about the church’s vision, value, or mission during worship. It doesn’t have to be a powerpoint-driven, visioneering keynote, just a simple statement that reflects why your church exist. Example: “If you are visiting with us, we are honored that you are here. We love God and we love people. So you make today awesome.”

• Does your church have a plan for kids?

There has never been a generation that values childcare more than this one. Parents value safety and great experiences for their children. By great experiences I don’t mean meeting a life-sized VeggieTales character and having a super-slide. I mean two leaders in every room that love kids and want to be there. If you don’t have that, the visiting family will be one and doneat your church. 

• Are there needless cringe factors?

I went in the Sunday School class and it mainly sounded like a gossip group. (Cringe!) You can think of a bunch of other cringe-worthy moments. Intentional churches and leaders are standard bearers and protectors from cringe. 

• Do your people love people?

You know it’s true. Some churches don’t want to grow because, frankly, they don’t love people. Churches that want to grow have this crazy love for people. And it’s not even like they have taste. They love everybody! And isn’t that the kind of church that could reach anybody? Isn’t that a family worth joining?