A Call That Begins With My Jerusalem (1 of 4)
Series: Go, Love, Serve
Jordan Easley
Matthew 22:37
--The foundation to a life of ministry
Several couple years ago, when my kids were much younger, we took our family on a summer trip to Sea World. We rode a few roller coasters… we pet the dolphins… but our favorite part of that trip was seeing the great SHAMU in all of her glory.
As we watched the show, one of my kids realized that Shamu’s dorsal fin was completely bent over and when they asked me, “Why?” I didn’t have the answer, so after the show, I decided to wait until everyone was gone and I asked Shamu’s trainer that same question. “Why is Shamu’s dorsal fin bent over?”
The trainer told me that her fin was bent over because of the limited space of the tank she lived in. She went on to say, “Even though Shamu is fully –grown, she’s only about 60% as large as she would’ve been if we had left her in the ocean.” The trainer went on to say, “Because her environment is so small, she’ll never be the size that she was intended to be.”
When she said that, it made me look at my own life a little differently. It made me look at US differently as disciples of Jesus and as members of His church.
And it made me ask: “In what ways is our growth being hindered (personally and spiritually and congregationally) … It made me ask: In what areas am I not reaching my full potential,” and “how can I, in a sense, expand my tank or expand my territory and become all that God intends for me to be?”
And after processing this for some time… this is what I’ve come to realize:
If I’m going to EXPAND MY TERRITORY, I must first STRENGTHEN MY MINISTRY. And If I’m going to strengthen my ministry, I must first ESTABLISH MY FOUNDATION.
In our upcoming, “GO. LOVE. SERVE.” Church-Wide Initiative, we’re asking every member of our church family to get out of the boat… to get out of their comfort zones and in-a-sense Expand their Territory.
You see, as you DO ...
Series: Go, Love, Serve
Jordan Easley
Matthew 22:37
--The foundation to a life of ministry
Several couple years ago, when my kids were much younger, we took our family on a summer trip to Sea World. We rode a few roller coasters… we pet the dolphins… but our favorite part of that trip was seeing the great SHAMU in all of her glory.
As we watched the show, one of my kids realized that Shamu’s dorsal fin was completely bent over and when they asked me, “Why?” I didn’t have the answer, so after the show, I decided to wait until everyone was gone and I asked Shamu’s trainer that same question. “Why is Shamu’s dorsal fin bent over?”
The trainer told me that her fin was bent over because of the limited space of the tank she lived in. She went on to say, “Even though Shamu is fully –grown, she’s only about 60% as large as she would’ve been if we had left her in the ocean.” The trainer went on to say, “Because her environment is so small, she’ll never be the size that she was intended to be.”
When she said that, it made me look at my own life a little differently. It made me look at US differently as disciples of Jesus and as members of His church.
And it made me ask: “In what ways is our growth being hindered (personally and spiritually and congregationally) … It made me ask: In what areas am I not reaching my full potential,” and “how can I, in a sense, expand my tank or expand my territory and become all that God intends for me to be?”
And after processing this for some time… this is what I’ve come to realize:
If I’m going to EXPAND MY TERRITORY, I must first STRENGTHEN MY MINISTRY. And If I’m going to strengthen my ministry, I must first ESTABLISH MY FOUNDATION.
In our upcoming, “GO. LOVE. SERVE.” Church-Wide Initiative, we’re asking every member of our church family to get out of the boat… to get out of their comfort zones and in-a-sense Expand their Territory.
You see, as you DO ...
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