Titleless Apostle
One of the most common questions that I have been asked as I’ve told people that Cindy and I are going off to help begin a Church is what my role will be. I’ve been asked if I’m going off to be associate pastor or whatever other title you would want to bestow on someone.
It’s surprising to me that there is an automatic assumption that we are going off to help start this church and because of that we’re getting a specific role or specific title. There isn’t one. Cindy and I are heading down to help start the church. So, what role do we play? Well, what needs to be done? Because, basically we’ll play the role of whatever is needing to be done at that particular day and time. That means that one day we may have to play the role of treasurer. Another day we’ll play the role of encourager to Kyle and Erika (and eachother!). Another day we’ll play the role of organizing some community event. We’ll definitely play the role of hosts as we invite people from the neighborhood over to our house and into our lives. We’re going to play the role of giving as we begin to truly tithe for the first time in our lives (I’ll definitely have more on this later). A title tells us what we’re supposed to do. For us, no title is best because we’re going to try to do whatever needs to get done!
My role at work is already changing as I get closer to going remote full-time. I can already feel that most people do not expect that I will be with TI in a couple of years. In fact, my new boss has told me that his fear is that in two years I’ll tell him I’m leaving for ministry. Well, guess what! I’ve already left…well, sort-of. Yeah, we’re going off to do ministry. But, thankfully I don’t have to “leave” to do that. I plan on still working. I plan on still making money (and we all know a new church needs the money!). I don’t see myself stopping this at some point in the future. In fact, there’s a better chance that I’m with another company in two years than not working outside of ministry. But, it’s time that we all realize that we don’t have to stop our career, we don’t have to go to seminary, we don’t have to live like paupers to do ministry. Folks, we can all do it and we can all start today!
For Cindy and I that means moving to Hutto. That means me working remote and making professional sacrifices. For someone else it may mean more involvement in their local church. For others it means finding a local church and getting involved! And, yes, for others it may mean giving up a career or something more drastic. But, we don’t have to do all this for a title or someother alterior motive. We do it for one reason, and only one reason. We’re called to it. God calls us to take action, and then you do it. We need to stop finding excuses and talking about all the cups that are half empty and start doing what we’re called to do. If you feel called to step up in minstry…just do it!
For me and my family, we’re called to start Resonate Community. For now, call me the Titleless Apostle. And, you know what, that’s the best title I can have.