A road-trip, a ministry, a step of faith…

             Early June in the Appalachians. I have missed the mountains since moving from Colorado to Illinois two years ago. These green peaks refreshed me as we drove through mountain towns boasting old southern estates, bluegrass festivals and a three-legged dog!

We were drove these windy roads to the all-staff conference of the Worldwide Discipleship Association in Johnson City, TN.

            A long story preceded this trip beginning in Africa last summer (though really it began much earlier). Lessons we learned in Africa about listening prayer and reliance on the Holy Spirit challenged my faith, my beliefs about the God’s character and my ability to hear Him.

            When I put listening prayer to the test at home, weird stuff happened. One day the Lord told me to buy a plane ticket for Atlanta. Unclear at first, God’s purposes slowly came into focus. Through some bizarre circumstances, I met Bob, who runs a ministry that tries to facilitate discipleship in the church through training platforms, heart-restoration ministry, and campus ministries. My heart resonated with a long-felt need for discipleship in our churches and I recognized a personal passion for growth spun from my own faith journey. I was intrigued to hear of their prolific work in Africa. But mostly, I felt encouraged by our meeting. I felt empowered to do whatever God called me to do.

            When I got home, the Lord told me to go back to Atlanta with my family. We stayed with Bob and Linda at their country home. Our hearts were refreshed and our interests were piqued as Debra resonated deeply with their restorative ministry and I learned more about their international work.

            Then one morning, God told me to join full-time staff with this Worldwide Discipleship Association. In one sense, it was too good to be true: I could work on beefing up discipleship in the American church (a real passion for me) while working internationally with African leaders to disciple Africans. Meanwhile Debra could put her counseling degree to work for WDA, facilitating discipleship through “Restore Your Heart” groups and pro-bono counseling. Here was a chance us to both live out our dreams and callings under the auspices of one unifying passion: discipleship.

So why did I twiddle my thumbs and procrastinate on filing my application? Well… I hate asking people for money and I’m scared I might have to move to Georgia someday. You know, all the wrong reasons. Well, eventually I did send in my application with the same crazy peace I felt on my wedding day, the peace you feel when something feels so insane and yet so right. God’s fingerprints were all over this thing and I felt I could do nothing else.

I began to get nervous when we sat down in a circle for the opening session of this “conference” and looked around me.  Here was a ragtag bunch of around 30. They weren’t slick, or charismatic, or awe-inspiring in any way. With the vast majority over 50-years-old, I was clearly the young blood.  But here too was a seasoned band of veterans. Many had been together for over 30 years. Here was a repository of wisdom and experience from decades of disciple building. As Bob said, “We’re not the people who study discipleship. We’re the ones who learn by doing it.”

So with our decision to join up with this ragtag band comes stunning clarity. It’s one of those rare moments when the fog of your experiences begins to form coherent shapes and a lot of things just start to make sense: my calling to missions when I was 13, my choice to marry someone who didn’t explicitly share that calling, my burden for the American church, our trip to Guinea, lessons in listening, and a dozen other leadings, interests, and life goals.

What’s next? I’m starting my ministry with a trip to Zambia this summer. I’ll be working with a seasoned WDA leader, teaching discipleship to pastors and bible college students in 3 regions of the country. I’m so excited for this because of the deep need for discipleship that I see in Africa and the possibility for Christ-like politicians, peace-makers, missionaries, and pastors that could come out of an effective discipleship paradigm.

When I get home, I will need to raise monthly financial support. I also need a committed team of praying folks I can go to when things get tough. I expect to spend the next year or so casting a vision, and recruiting a team of faithful ministry partners. That in itself can be a significant ministry and I’m excited to share this ministry with others. I’ll be doing a lot of training in WDA’s discipleship platform and restorative ministries. I hope to invest one-on-one in a small handful of young leaders and to lead a “Restore Your Heart” group. I plan to do it all under the auspices of hospitality. God has given me a vision for a home-away-from-home for many people; an inviting space full of good food and great conversation. We want to significantly increase our food budget. We’re looking at places with large spaces for entertaining. In my experience this is where I come alive.

            After next year, our path is uncharted. It may involve a move to Georgia (really Lord?), some more intensive training, and a lot more overseas work ramping up to a fulltime commitment to the international ministry. Debra will probably come on fulltime staff as well, devoting her time to counseling and restorative work. At some point, there may be a residential school of ministry that Debra and I would be heavily involved in. I believe God will iron out the details for us. But right now, the possibilities are absolutely exhilarating.