Passion and Vision… Amidst Terror

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In the midst of all that I share below, the terror never lifted. Everyday began as I shared here in a previous post.

Rarely did I share my internal terror – the responses I got were too painful.

God’s gifts of passion and vision.

1971

After the birth of my third child, I cried out to the Triune God in desperation, “Please, please, teach me how to raise up my children so they will walk with You into eternity.”

Honestly, I wasn’t thinking of any children but my own in that cry; however, God had other plans.

1976

God gave me the first bricks of passion and vision for children’s ministry.

The associate pastor of our church asked Joe and I to develop a children’s worship service. Our own children were seven, six and four. The pastor, a single man from Belgium, had a great love for children. He met with Joe and me every Thursday night to lay out a plan. Week after week, he would slap his hand on our dining room table and loudly exclaim, “Vats the meaning of this, Vat’s the meaning of this. This is for the Lord of lords and the King of kings, this isn’t WORTHY of the Lord of lords or the King of kings. I will be back to make sure you have made it worthy of the King.”

This service, in a church where children had previously always worshipped with their parents, began in the church gym. It was meant only for the children. Within a month, we were told, “The parents are coming to the gym to worship with the children; we are moving the service to the sanctuary.” I was shocked – we did some pretty crazy stuff during those services, such as having everyone get up and go to the four corners of the earth to evangelize. Every Sunday the service was packed – and not just with families; there was a section of senior citizens who were so excited to worship at the level of a child.

First brick of passion:
don’t do anything if it isn’t worthy
of the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

First brick of vision:
A Children’s Ministry known for its excellence.

To this day, when I am working on something for Children’s Ministry, I hear Pastor Louie’s challenge and I ask,

“Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is this worthy of YOU the King?”

1979

A trip to China and the honest response of a friend gave me the second pair of Passion and Vision bricks for Children’s Ministry. (Click here if you have not read that story before.)

Second brick of Passion
When serving children do what children need;
not what makes adults comfortable.

Second Brick of Vision
Adults catching the passion to see children
walk into eternity with Jesus Christ, thus moving
out of comfort zones to meet the real needs of children.

1982

The terror hadn’t stopped just because there was ministry to do. I had to push myself through a lot of tears, a lot of shouts to Almighty God – “I JUST WANT TO GIVE UP!” He never let me do so.

The Children’s ministry was growing beyond anything I had imagined.

This prayer list found in my journal gives a view of how the vision was developing into specific ministry gatherings.

Sunday Morning – birth through 6^th grade – how do we meet the needs of children who stay for more than one service?
600 Volunteers needed next year.
Preparing For Adolescence classes – parents and kids
Creative Teaching Seminar
Intro To Teaching Seminar
Monday night teachers’ meeting
All Church Picnic – need volunteers (picture is from pie eating contest)
Musical preparation
Teacher’s Recognition Night
Recruitment for summer – then for fall
Easter
Family Retreat
Summer Planning – VBS, Play Days, Day Camps, Preschool days
Divorce Recovery

I had never imagined the variety of tasks that fall under the Children’s Ministry umbrella.

The coming three years would be filled with excitement,
new ideas and failure as the Triune God continued
to give me a greater passion for Children’s Ministry.

My cry to the Triune God was, “Teach me how to cultivate this ministry to become a life-changing, dynamic ministry for today’s children. I cry out for wisdom to train and motivate parents. Father, give every adult in the church a desire to play a role in the discipleship of the children.”

The King of kings and the Lord of lords laid one challenge after another in my lap – this was a hard one.

How do you make beach city kids want to be at church
on Summer Sunday mornings,
when their friends are at the beach?

Several moms had come to let me know that their children did not want to come to church during the summer. My vision of children loving to be at church on Sundays while at the same time learning and growing did not seem to be happening – at least not in the summer. I grieved; I felt at a loss of what to do. The passion drove me to find the answer – “God would direct.”

Now it was middle of July. I still needed 219 more adults working with children by September 1 and again the cry, “Please bring them to me or show me how to go get them.

This would be a continuing cry through the coming years – as it is for most Children’s Ministry Directors and Pastors.

Grab a cup of coffee … and imagine we are chatting.

Shortly after beginning “Refiner’s Fire”, a psychiatrist friend wrote me, “You’re meeting a need…there will be less stigma about mental illness in the church as ministry leaders share their stories. Trust God will use your story for His glory!”

It was difficult to be serving in the church while my body told me I was living in terror. I remember getting to church early one Sunday morning and walking through all the empty gathering rooms and thinking, “Father, am I living a lie? How can I feel like this if I truly love You?”

As I’ve come to better understand the importance of God’s glory, the more I’ve been able to relax in Him – even as my body rages. I’ve learned that the trauma I’ve experienced brings God glory.

Ask God to show you the importance of His glory in your life.
Ask Him to give you insight into the depth of the truths of the following verses.

DWELL ON GOD’S GLORY!

Romans 5:2 (ESV)

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 8:18

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

2 Corinthians 4:16–18

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.(ESV)

Romans 11:36 – 12:2

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)

1 Peter 1:24–25

This is a comparison of earthly glory and God’s glory – which do you seek?

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (ESV)

2 Thessalonians 1:9

“the glory of his might”

Colossians 1:11–12

“being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (ESV)

The following three verses gives insight of what His glorious might has done.

Isaiah 40:12 says he

“measured the seas in the hollow of his hands . . . and weighed the mountains in scales”

Daniel 4:35

“He does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say to him, What doest thou?”

Hebrews 1:3

“He upholds the universe by his word of power.”

Romans 6:4

“We were buried with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Romans 9:22-23

“What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory?”

2 Thessalonians 1:9–12

“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (ESV)

Revelation 21:23

“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

Revelation 5:11-14

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, “To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Hebrews 1:3

tells us that our Lord Jesus “reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature.”

Quote from John Piper regarding Romans 5:2

that “we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God,” he means for us to know and feel that the glory of God is exceedingly great. If there is any wonder, if there is any awe, if there is any admiration, or fame or praise or applause, it belongs to the glory of God. For all other glory is like grass compared to God’s.

Romans 5:2

“We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” The glory of God is not yet manifest in full, even though the heavens declare the glory of God and Jesus himself is the image and reflection of that glory. There is so much more coming that we now live in hope. We wait. We wait for Christ. We wait for health. We wait for righteousness. And we wait for the glory of God.

But there are three phrases in Romans 5:1-2 that are intended to give Christians strong confidence and full assurance that we will indeed share in this glory. We don’t wait and wonder if it will turn out well. We can wait and know that the glory of God is our eternal portion.

The first phrase is, justified by faith. The second phrase is, peace with God. And the third phrase is the grace in which we stand.

Taken from Our Hope: The Glory of God John Piper

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