From: The Pastor’s Heart
Title: “The RIDE Is Worth IT”
Monday we got up extra early, tossed our luggage in the truck bed, grabbed a cup of
coffee, picked up our friends, and began the seven hour drive to Orlando for the Full
Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Conference. Although the trip was long, it didn’t feel
that way. We talked, laughed, shared stories, and reminisced about our lives together and
separately. Before we knew it we were arriving at the hotel and preparing to embark upon
a spirit-filled week of impactful teaching, fellowship, and worship.
After self-parking the truck, we walked into the lobby, confirmed our reservations,
obtained our swipe cards, and proceeded to the room. It was a blessing to have safely
made it to our destination and it was even more wonderful to be able to lie down across
the bed and rest from the long day. I was tired and sleepy and could have easily taken a
good and much needed nap, but that option was not available to me because was
scheduled to be in attendance at the Overseers meeting in less than an hour.
Sometimes, for the sake of ministry, what you want to do and what you need to do are not
choices of which you can select one over the other. Satisfying wants are often driven by
your individual desire, when what you need to do is frequently determined by the things
God has placed upon your spirit. I was not facilitating the meeting or even known by
many of my colleagues who would be in the meeting. I mention this because it would
have been easy to simply not attend and just find out the next day what topics were
discussed. I’m glad I fought off that brief consideration because what I received from
making the sacrifice to be in the number, benefited me greatly.
The ride from Atlanta to Orlando wore down my energy but I couldn’t allow it to weave
out my engagement. Being engaged in what God’s called you to is not only important to
you at the time of the impartation, but what you receive in that appointed moment will
most assuredly impact someone else’s life. It’s important that when we are tempted to
resist connecting with the wisdom, word, and people of God due to weariness, that we
may be jeopardizing more than just the knowledge we could receive at the time. Our lives
are meant to make a difference and you never know who’s watching you and who’s going
to gleam from your spirit.
So the next time you are supposed to be in place to get or give impact in any way, please
make sure that you are in place and ready to participate. Don’t allow the pressures of life
to distract you from the purpose of God for your life. If God no longer has need of you,
He’s more than capable of removing you from this world, but since you’re still here there’s
more that you can do. I may have been exhausted going into the meeting, but within an
hour after being there I said to myself, “Hey, this was WORTH the Ride!” Stay on board.
EVERYTHING WE DO MOVING FORWARD WILL BE INTENTIONAL AND DRIVEN WITH
PURPOSE TO REPRESENT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT!
NOTHING WILL BE DONE WITH ENERGY LESS THAN OUR BEST AND EFFORT BELOW
OUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL.
OUR SERVICE IS LOCAL, BUT OUR REACH IS GLOBAL – SO WE CANNOT REDUCE OUR
PRESENTATION DOWN TO WHAT’S CONVENIENT, BUT RATHER WE MUST RAISE IT TO
THAT WHICH IS EXPLOSIVE!
Get ready for major change that’s coming systematically, intellectually, purposefully, and
professionally. Nothing we do moving forward will be done haphazardly, sloppily, poorly,
or carnally.
We Are the LIGHT!
Sincerely,
Pastor J.E. Chandler, Sr.
(CEO/Pastor of MLCM)
