Sunday Extra: Fluidity in the Process
In Acts 23:11, Jesus called Paul to preach the Gospel in Rome. Yet in Acts 27 and 28, we learn that on the way to Rome, Paul was caught in a terrible storm, shipwrecked, nearly executed, and bitten by a venomous snake.
If I was Paul, I might have started to doubt God’s plan. When we encounter difficulty, we instinctively wonder if we are somehow outside of God’s will.
My friend, Rodney Gray, says that it can be easier to trust God’s plan than to trust God’s process. Yet the painful times in our lives are the ripe times for God to show up … ripe for God to shape us, mold us, and bring Him glory.
Rodney Gray is SouthPark Campus Pastor for my home church, New City Church in Charlotte. His personal story of following God’s plan into ministry includes his own shipwrecks, storms, and snakes. So as my dad might say, this is a sermon grounded in Scripture that comes from Rodney’s heart.
Faithful to His plan. Fluid in His process. Join us today for encouragement and challenge from Acts 28.
MINISTRY UPDATE: RESOURCES FOR MENTORS
Thank you for praying for Chetola 2021, our next gathering to equip potential mentor leaders to launch new mentoring communities supporting pastors of small churches, congregations of color, and church plants. The gathering is scheduled for early September.
This week we shipped each potential mentor leader two key books:
Lifelong Leadership by Dr. MaryKate Morse, an LFM resource published by NavPress which equips seasoned leaders to form mentoring communities for less-experienced leaders.
The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero, which encourages leaders to transform their inner life with Christ to strengthen their external leadership for Christ.
Chetola 2021 is supported by seed money from a Lilly Endowment Inc. grant, but it is your prayers and financial support which equip and strengthen Leighton Ford Ministries … providing the backbone and infrastructure and resources to make this work possible.
Thank you for continuing to pray … and for your important role in mentoring healthy leaders who sustain thriving ministries for the sake of the Gospel.
Kevin Ford
Chief Catalyst
Leighton Ford Ministries
