Mountainous Pulpit

A new friend of mine was telling me about his career as we talked life the other day. For well over 20 years, Mr. Bob has been teaching and coaching. He is still coaching football and wrestling.  Over his career, Bob has coached many sports and had the opportunity to invest in many young lives.  Early in his life he had aspirations of being a pastor yet God had moved him into coaching.  Bob said, “I was sitting in front of a group of High School girls and talking about life when I realized that my pulpit was a hardwood floor.”  That sentence hit me with the magnitude of its truth.  There is tremendous depth in that statement. Our thoughts on our calling/purpose versus what God has planned for us…being present in our circumstances…salt and light where God has us currently…living missionally in all places…

For those who have known me a while know that my career has taken a circuitous route.  After HS, I set out to be an ATC/PT then switched to Baseball Coach/Teacher. Wait, got tired of that so I left school and sold guns (legally, no black market stuff here) and worked in the Pawn business.  Hold on, still not settled, back to school working toward graduate school with a PT degree. Finally, after 10 years of “wandering”, I’m settled…I’ll be a PT and live the suburban, middle class, Southern lifestyle.  I thought I was settled.  Laura and I were going to serve God where we were raising these 5 kids.  Serve locally in our church, take and lead others on short term mission trips, glorify God where we were in our comfortable American lives.

God moved us…changed our focus…called us to a mountainside outside of Antigua, Guatemala.  God and I wrestled over this for a while…I was the slow one on the uptake.  Laura and Hannah were ready and tuned in way before I was.  In hindsight, it was to God’s credit and glory.  The calling was made sure by Him and that has made a HUGE difference.  I thought that my influence, my pulpit was going to be in a PT clinic, community group setting, softball/baseball field BUT God had a different plan and His plan trumps mine.  My pulpit, our families’ pulpit is a Guatemalan mountainside…a BVSA classroom…soccer field…weight room!!  Only God could do something like this.

I could look over my circuitous route and get frustrated, embarrassed, and down trodden.  But, God reminds me that He is Sovereign and has guided my life to this point. He has uniquely prepared me for the next stage of my life.  Through it all, I stand here and say…To God Be the Glory!!!

So, I admonish you, use your life as it is right now to give God praise.  He has you where He has you for a reason.  You don’t have to be a pastor of a church to have a pulpit to proclaim God’s name.  Your pulpit can be a construction site, a classroom, a baseball/football/soccer field, your home, as a small business owner, a board room, a sales meeting, etc. As believers, we are salt and light. Allow your life to be salt…shine that light…be that strategic city on a hill (Matt 5).