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The Call to Florida…

Well, it’s been forever since I last blogged and there’s good reason for that.  My family and I, after a strong call from God, uprooted 1,200 miles from Canton, Ohio to Tampa, Florida.  The move honestly was a 2 year process.  God had been preparing me for several years for something new with phrases like, “Spread your wings” and “something new.”  There is no doubt that God had a new ministry assignment for me and because of my love for Him, I had to be obedient.  The move has been physically, emotionally and Spiritually draining for many reasons.  I left family, comfort, success, familiarity and influence for something completely new and unknown.  But, without a doubt, God’s hand has been in this process and we feel so blessed to be in Tampa — working with an amazing church.   You can read more about our move here

Needless to say, moving is a crazy process.  But here are a few things I’ve learned about God, leadership and family during this time:

1.  God is bigger than what I could have ever imagined.  It’s amazing how great God truly is…everyday I feel Him pushing way beyond the boundaries and the box I have put Him in.  Many times  I’ve asked myself why He has brought me here to Florida and He provides me with a huge sign of clarity.  God has work for me here in Tampa.  I believe something big is about to happen — as long as I get out of the way.  I believe that He wants to do something great…even tangible…in the lives of High School students in Tampa and I am amazed that He has brought me here to help lead His movements.  Today, I was reminded of a great phrase a good friend of mine has on his whiteboard (this phrase is something a great pastor in Uganda received from God): “I am tired of your small mind about my work.”

2.  Leadership means you have to be okay with surrounding yourself with very talented people. My current position is more of a management position than what I have experienced in ministry.  In short, I have a staff that I get to lead as we dream and work towards assisting God in the ushering in of His Kingdom, among High School students in Tampa.  My staff includes some very insightful, intelligent, Spirit-filled people.  God has taught me that that’s a really  good thing — nothing to be threatened by.  He’s humbled me to the point of helping me realize that a few years ago, I may have pushed back from talented people, or dominated in leadership, or simply operated in my silo trying to separate myself from people who I may have felt threatened by.  Surrounding yourself with talented people only makes the leader stronger and therefore the team much stronger.  I feel blessed to have walked into a situation like that.

3. New assignments can sometimes force you to choose to cheat. Some of the best advice I’ve ever heard, in regards to busyness and ministry work, is from Andy Stanley’s book Choose to Cheat. The gist of this book is that you must choose to cheat something in the busyness of life.  You will either choose work over family, and therefore cheat your family; or you can choose family over work, and cheat the institution.  Any time  you take on a new assignment you want to prove yourself, but because of the wise counsel of some great people (a coworker at my last church said this right before I left, “You make sure that you set the calender and schedule for your family, not the church), I have been able to  make some great choices between work and family.

Hopefully, I can continue to focus on these principles as I continue to take on this new endeavor.  God have your way with me.