I want to share another excerpt from my new book To the Edge. Here is one of my favorites. If you missed yesterday’s excerpt, be sure to check it out. A special thanks to those of you who have shared that you are presently reading through the book! Please send me your feedback and consider posting a review at Amazon.
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We want to start with the extraordinary. Iron Man. The
Incredible Hulk.
“We want the high caliber, high capacity-type to lead
this ministry. For apart from these we can do nothing. We
want Superman, not the Greatest American Hero!”
We want to use the extraordinary to reach the world.
“If only our church had some outstanding leaders,
then we would be better poised to reach the four billion.
Unfortunately, global disciple making will have to wait
until we can find just one.”
We want the extraordinary because we think they are
the way to accomplish the extraordinary.
“Kingdom work is a daunting task, please send us some
strong leaders to enable our church to be about such work.”
But . . . what if the way to reach the nations is not
through the extraordinary? What if in our Father’s
Kingdom economy the primary way to accomplish the extraordinary
is through the ordinary?
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,
and perceived that they were uneducated, common men,
they were astonished. And they recognized that they had
been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
Do you catch that? The ordinary doing the extraordinary.
Yes, our Father uses the extraordinary to accomplish
the extraordinary but not in the way we have come to believe.
For the extraordinary is found in Jesus and not His
followers’ intellect, leadership capacity, experience, degrees,
or charisma.
What about your church? Do you have any members
who are common, ordinary people? Are you an ordinary
person? If so, then you and your church are in a good position
for the Lord to do the extraordinary through you.
“But ordinary people can’t engage in extraordinary
Kingdom work!”
Really? What is your definition of extraordinary?
“With all that they have going on with work and family,
they can’t organize, administrate, lead, preach, and
conduct church ministries like I do.”
Then maybe you need to revise your understanding of
what is necessary for a healthy local church to exist and be
involved in our Commission?
The way to accomplish the extraordinary is through
the ordinary. The ordinary disciples of Jesus confounded
the religious leaders of the first century. These ordinary
men were accused of turning the world upside down (Acts
17:6). These ordinary people were responsible for the Word
of the Lord going forth everywhere (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
And it was through the service of the ordinary that
you and I eventually came to faith in the Extraordinary.
Stop looking for the extraordinary among people. Look
for the ordinary who are filled with the Extraordinary . . .
if you want to accomplish the extraordinary.