The last few days we’ve attended the Global Leadership Summit in Pasadena, CA. As always, it was incredibly inspiring and challenging, but for me, this year particularly so as I was energized in a new way to do all I can in this and my associated ministries to help you know, trust, and apply the Bible and to teach it to others.
I was so excited that I created this video while still here at the hotel–check it out and once again decide to fulfill the dreams God gave you for your good and His glory.
What follows is the blog the video was based on
“How many of you are eighty years old?” was a question I asked in a Bible class I was teaching. Not a hand went up, though it was a class of mixed ages and many with grey hair and lined faces.
“That’s OK,” I responded, “God still has a few years to get you into shape for significant ministry.”
And I went on to talk about Moses and how for 40 years he thought he was a big deal and he was—the prince of Egypt, a successful general, son of Pharoah’s daughter. For the next 40 years, he is a fugitive after murdering a man, but God was gracious. He found a family; married, had sons and most likely at 80 years old thought he’d be spending the remainder of his days playing with grandkids around his tent.
But one day a bush was burning.
And God called him to arguably the most significant ministry any person in the Old Testament would be called to—to lead the people out of Egypt and to write God’s laws and covenant with His people.
I was reminded of this at the Global Leadership Summit I attended this week in Pasadena, CA.
“There are a lot of older people here,” my husband commented when we first arrived and sat down with our coffee. People like us I thought (I’m 74…..6 more years to go). And I also noticed the grey heads and lined faces, slumped shoulders, and people using walkers in the elevators and at breaks—many people around my age, some most likely older, some a few years younger.
All at a Leadership Conference where we were challenged to dream and do great things for God.
Implications and applications
We are eternal people and eternally alive people once we have trusted Jesus for our salvation. The number of years spent on our earthly pilgrimage matters little. What matters are your dreams and calling from God.
I have dreams and goals for my ministries of Bible805 and Effective Church Communications that were renewed and energized at the conference, which you will be seeing the results of in the coming weeks. Expect especially a lot more videos in both ministries, calling us all back to a greater dependency on God’s Word as the foundation for all we do and practical ideas for how to put that foundational truth into practice.
Much of what I’ll be putting out will be in video format because it seems it is so like the sense of humor God has to call me to do a visual media when I get the fleeting accusations (that I know are from the Enemy) that I’m too old for this—yeah probably and there is no way I can cover up my ugly old lady neck without looking really weird with scarfs, which I never wear in real life (and yes, ladies my age do obsess about this). But if God has given me a message and people need to hear it, too old or not, I’ll turn on that computer camera and give it on video because that seems to be the way people want/need/overwhelmingly do take in information today.
I imagine God stirred the hearts and minds of many others at the conference to carry out perhaps dreams long-dormant, or current dreams that need reviving. And I pray that whatever the dream was, whatever the motivation, that all who felt that stirring, that internal bush burning will respond.
A challenge to those in leadership in churches
Regardless of your age, there is a tendency in churches to focus on younger people as the target audience, the most desired group for your church and we do want to reach them with every resource we have and provide every possible ministry venue.
But don’t write off the grey-haired Boomers in your church. They have time, resources, and skills (younger people forget our generation INVENTED computers and many of us are incredibly computer savvy). And dreams—many Boomers have dreams yet to be realized and I’m sure I’m not the only one who left the Leadership Summit with a renewed passion to fulfill them.
Take time to ask them what their dream might be and how the church can help them fulfill it.
I imagine when Moses walked out of his community back towards Egypt, many people shook their heads at the crazy old guy who thought he heard God speaking. Imagine their amazement when a few months later he returned leading a multitude of people to freedom.
Support, encourage, listen to, and pray for the dreams of your people, no matter what their age.
You never know where a bush may be burning.