“You learn FAR MORE of the deep things of God
& REAL ministry to people
by staying long in one church
than by moving around.” 
-Rick Warren

This quote was from today’s twitter feed and I’ve grown to realize that I may not be a Pastor, or a Bible School grad student, but I’ve worked and devoted myself in several of God’s ministries for many many years, and experience has given me so much more insight than books.  It’s helped me deal with heartbreaking circumstances, difficult people, confrontations, impossibilities, insecurities, dramas, grace, love, forgiveness, discernment, patience, perseverance, humility, maturity, and leadership.  And this is just internal issues.  All these, seeing people come and go, and learning about yourself and people and yourself with people, you definitely learn deeper things that God wants you to see about His love for people. 

But if you move around too much, how do you really develop love? How do you develop relationships? How do you develop love for people when in an instant something difficult happens, you leave? How do you develop love and grace and forgiveness in the heart of where it’s tested when you run up and leave with pride towed in hand?

But to stay when things get hard, when things are thrown at you, when you’re not appreciated, when you’re toiling not for yourself or people, but to see God’s work completed, you start to see what it’s really about- the deep things of God…the things that take you out of your comfort and show who you really are and what your heart is really meant to do for God’s kingdom, to lay aside feelings of hurt or inadequacy to still love. 

But if you keep moving…one thing is for sure…you’ll never be happy because you’re working towards yourself. And the sad thing is, it won’t be far long until you move again…and then you start to realize it’s not the imperfect churches, it’s you feeling too perfect.

You can take that to the bank with my name on it.