This morning as I was preparing my morning coffee, I listened in on an interaction between my wife and my son. My son, who is only 11, was very concerned with his ability to maintain his energy levels for the day. He has several opportunities today to engage in athletic activity and he wanted to make sure he did the right things before heading off to school to pave the way for success in all of his efforts.
I am constantly impressed by my little man’s desire to try new things. If there is an opportunity available to kids his age, he is generally excited to give it a try. Over the course of the past few years he has participated in soccer, baseball, basketball, robotics, cub scouts, cross country, strength and conditioning training, track and field, and he has a desire to take part in band, swimming, and archery in the next year. Of course, JJ hasn’t been great at every event he’s attempted and he enjoyed some more than others. But, what has impressed me about JJ and the thing that makes me most proud of him is his willingness to jump in and try new things for a season. While not every opportunity has worked out, several have; and we would have never known that had he never tried.
There are many who would (and have) disagreed with JJ’s approach to activities. Conventional wisdom in recent years has been to encourage children to begin limiting their interests to one or two primary activities in order to focus attention on developing their talents in those areas. While there are certainly benefits to that approach, I wonder how many incredible experiences JJ would have missed had we not allowed and encouraged him to attempt new things. I tend to believe that a mind that is open and attracted to new opportunities is itself a skill worth developing. This is a skill that I believe is essential for the local church as we seek to reach the world around us with the truth of the gospel.
The world has and continues to change at breathtaking speeds. Just the adaptations in how we communicate with one another are by themselves almost too much to handle. Two short decades ago, if you weren’t able to be at an event in person, you had to wait days or weeks for someone who was there to share developed pictures or video with you. Today, we simply snap a picture and share it right after it happens. If that isn’t good enough for you, simply live stream the video in real time and loved ones half a world away can enjoy the moment with you. Over the past year, we have been able to see in this adaptation an opportunity. We now livestream a worship service at First Baptist Church every Sunday morning. We have people who join us for worship in multiple states, in at least 5 countries, and on 3 continents. When I was on vacation in Florida a few weeks ago, I was able to join FBC for worship via my cell phone!
The opportunities that are becoming available are too many to count. Some of them are well outside of my comfort zone. Others are well outside of my abilities or understanding. Not every opportunity will be a good fit, but some will. Not every opportunity is worth our time and attention, but some are. Much like the church in the book of Acts, we need to rely heavily on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds to the way He would have us live and move in our ever-changing world. We must boldly and courageously step into the opportunities to which He leads us, trusting that as we do what we’ve never done, we will see God work like we’ve never seen. It all starts with the courage to simply give it a try.
