Yesterday I received a video from a friend. It was three hours and ten minutes long. I watched a brief part of it, mainly the introduction. I’m constantly receiving videos and posts of various content. And I admit I send videos and posts to folks I think they would like/benefit/enjoy/ whatever. I really do appreciate you thinking of me, I really do. However, If I don’t respond to your videos or posts, here’s a partial answer. I’m avoiding monkeys. I’ll explain this more in a moment. Several years ago, I remember deleting one “discussion” that was turning into a debate. I reposted the item the following year when it appeared on my Facebook memories. The same discussion was attempted by the same person. That person thought the comments were about them. They were not. Sorry, I’m not interested in debating. And if you don’t respond to my videos or posts, that’s OK. My post may not be your monkey.
What is this about monkeys? Hang on; we’ll get there in a minute.
By the way, I wrote the original of this several years ago. Have you noticed sometimes you go around the same mountain again and again on your way to the “promised land?”
I wrote then and, in many ways, it’s true today, I haven’t been ready.
Oh yes, I was ready to be “doing something.” Just not prepared for “now.”
In fact, our “now” started the first of last year. Tanya, my wife, and I were in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We were pleased with our church, ChurchAlive. We were active in attending weekly services, and prayer ministry, and I directed their School of Ministry with Tanya beside me. And then the “winds of change” started blowing. My blogs on Spiritual-wanderings.com (remember the dash) from last year tell that story. We sold our home and moved to Lufkin, Texas. We believed then and still feel the move was God-ordained. Year one, back in East Texas, had a lot of challenges. A lot! My usual creativity was blocked. But as I told some friends last evening, the creativity seems to be returning.
Hold on, monkeys are coming up in a little bit!
One of our “sons,” for whom we agreed to be guardians (I have 3 sons, and we were to be guardians of four boys and one girl, if something happened to their parents, they are all now grown with children of their own), sent me an article. In it were two words that described where I was. “Emotionally exhausted.” Can’t explain it, except, very tired and wrung out. But that was several years ago since I wrote this; I’m doing better. Maybe retiring was the significant factor. It was time. Time plus rest help.
During that time about four years ago, we drove to Santa Fe. Saw a friend John who runs Santa Fe Antiques. Then had lunch with Jerry, celebrating his birthday. We drove around downtown. Went into a couple of shops Tanya wanted to visit and drove back to Albuquerque. Again, exhausted. Slept in.
Our friend in Santa Fe used a word in something we discussed that stood out to me: “purpose.” I’ve never read “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren. Have you? I frequently examine why am I here? What’s my purpose? Where am I going?
Finally, here come the monkeys!
Our friend, Jerry, grew up in the same part of East Texas as Tanya. He came out of extreme poverty and has been very successful. He asked me, “Is that your monkey?” Meaning something that I was butting my head against the wall about. And then he asked, “Why are you feeding it if it’s not your monkey?” I tend to either attempt to adopt monkeys I shouldn’t, or sometimes I’m given monkeys I shouldn’t accept. I hope that makes sense. Does it?
So, I’m examining my purpose, where I’m going, what monkeys I need to eliminate (don’t worry, I’ll donate them to the zoo), and what monkeys I should stop feeding. This is part of my routine.
Let’s bring this into the present day, June 2023. We’ve been in East Texas for a year as of June 2. We started attending a church in Nacogdoches, Mosaic. Two churches merged; one was a church that Tanya’s mother, Syble, had participated in for years. We’ve known some folks there for 50 years. I brought with me a desire; I firmly believe in a “calling” to launch discipleship training as we had the last two years in Albuquerque. My Ph.D. is in education, with a strong leaning toward curriculum design. However, I’ve discovered a vital truism in my years of teaching, program development, and leadership. If a curriculum already exists and meets your purpose. Why reinvent it? Yes, you may tweak it to fit you or your situation. But there is no need to start from scratch. The program we used in New Mexico exists in over 3000 schools worldwide. It works! Use it! Our church is currently going through its own “winds of change.” So, a discipleship training program has yet to develop. I’m waiting for the “yet.”
So, examining where we are and presenting the School of Ministry (SOM) concept many times to many folks over the last year. It’s become a mantra of mine. Finally, I see evidence the seeds planted are starting to germinate. We’ll continue to work the fields. This past couple of weeks, there seems to be that God, by His Spirit, is revealing the direction discipleship training might develop. I met a pastor of a church in Lufkin last week. Engaged in an excellent conversation for a couple of hours. He showed interest, and I perceive excitement toward discipleship training. Another possibly revealed itself when we visited with a couple we know, who do prison ministry, two prisons located nearby. We attended various classes over three days. Wow! I haven’t seen or experienced such focus from a class since the days I taught courses at military bases in Alaska.
I’m seeking God’s direction on this. The School of Ministry may be launched under the sponsorship of our 501c3, Eagles Rest Ministry, and have multiple locations. Your contributions are tax deductible, will be greatly appreciated, and used for ministry.
But many, many times, I’ve observed how many churches are too busy. Or, we’ve never done “it” that way before. Or, our people are just too busy. It is of great interest to me and causes some bewilderment as I observe how many “things” get in the way of churches doing what Jesus said to do, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus left us with a multiplication strategy. You, He said, “Follow me, and I will make you a disciple.” Now go and do likewise. Make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples, etc. The following comes from the Barna group, “Just over one in four U.S. Christians (28%) falls in the category of both being discipled and discipling others in a discipleship community. Another 28 percent are being discipled but are not helping others grow closer to Christ, and a very small percentage (5%) is only discipling others. By these definitions, this means the plurality of Christians (39%) is not engaged in discipleship in any direction.
I encourage you; if you desire discipleship, or desire discipling others, let me know. If I can help in any way, let me know. My purpose as I see it now is;
“Eagles Rest Ministry exists to make disciples teaching them through literature and training materials to accomplish their Spiritual Goals.”
Well, if you’ve read thus far, thank you. Thank you for being a friend.
Grace and peace to you,
Paul
#monkeys #discipleship #ministry #Christian education
Spiritual Wanderings 