In talking with various children’s ministers it seems like many are facing some of the same basic issues in ministry and asking the same questions. Questions such as:

What do I do when I’m wrongly accused?
How do I deal with division or lack of integrity?
How do you know when it's time to leave?
How do I juggle family and ministry?
How do I deal with the hurt?
Why is this happening to me? I haven't done anything wrong!

As we addressed these issues together I found myself reflecting back over the last 15 years I’ve spent in ministry and began to see how God has walked me through many stages and seasons. It’s like we’ve been on a journey together and each season moves us closer to the dream He has placed in my heart. God began to share things with me that I’d never seen before and as He revealed these truths to me I was able to speak into these leaders’ lives and the following series was born. I share it with you in hopes that it will help you if you are facing the same issues or asking the same questions.

JOSEPH’S JOURNEY
Part one – The “untouchable” dream

It was 1991 and Randy and I were living in Tulsa , OK , where  we had just graduated from Bible school. I had my children’s ministry diploma in one hand and my Bible in the other. The dream God had put in my heart was bigger than life. I was full of zeal and ready to get on a plane and go save “all the children of the world” not just sing about them! Randy, on the other hand, was making arrangements to move back to Peoria , IL to “seek God” as to what He would have us do next. Being the submissive wife that I was, I reluctantly packed up our stuff and found myself sitting in a moving van headed for corn country instead of on a Boeing 747 headed for the utter most parts of the world. Was I just a little disappointed with the outcome of my future? Yes, you could say that. Did I question God and my husband? You bet I did! Do I look back on that season and regret that move? Not for one minute. Why?  Because over the next 3 years God placed me in situations, circumstances, and positions that forced me to gain hands on experience working one on one with children, parents and adults. He put people in my life (good and bad) to teach me some of life’s most valuable lessons. In part one of this series I would like to share the two most important lessons I learned during that season of my life.

“Sometimes God will keep your dream out of reach because you aren’t ready for it yet”

Let’s take a look at Joseph as an example. We read in Genesis 37:5-10 that Joseph was given a dream and was really excited about it. So excited, that he just had to share it with someone.  This is fine, but a wise person would be selective of who they share their dreams and visions with. Maybe he got a kick out of informing them that someday they would bow before him and he would rule over them. Although he was destined for great things he was still not mature enough to walk into the dream God had placed in his heart. His immaturity and lack of experience kept him from the dream within his heart. His lack of wisdom and uncontrolled excitement caused him to share his dream with those who would only despise him all the more. This would eventually lead them to plan his death. The good news is…. When God’s hand is on your life the enemy cannot take your life! So instead of killing him they landed up selling him into slavery. Not his first choice as a training field for ministry, but it sure beat being 6 feet under.

Just think about it… what better environment to learn humbleness, submission, and obedience than to serve in the position of a slave. Now I’m not saying that it was God’s will that he be sold into slavery. Sometimes we place ourselves in circumstances based on our own poor choices that lead to less than ideal results. But God will use the messes we get ourselves into, as learning experiences and opportunities for us to grow and mature. Our part is to continue to believe in the dream, recognize God’s hand on our lives, look to Him for instruction and obey what He tells us to do. 

There was no doubt that God had called Joseph to do great things, and Joseph was very zealous about it. Can you recall how you felt the first time God shared your dream with you? Even to this day I get excited when I think about the dream God has placed in my heart! But just because the dream is in your heart and you are excited about it does not mean you are ready to walk into its fullness. Just as Joseph needed to be pruned and prepped, we need to be pruned and prepped. He was not ready for the part. For one thing he didn’t know how to control his zeal. In Romans 10:2 we see how uncontrolled zeal that is not balanced with knowledge only produces spiritual blindness.

Romans 10:2 - NKJ
For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Romans 10:2 – Message Bible
I readily admit that the Jews are impressively energetic regarding God - but they are doing everything exactly backwards.

He also needed to develop his people skills and learn how to walk in God’s wisdom and not so much in his own understanding. He did not grasp the concept of being fully reliant on God.

Proverbs 3:5 – Message Bible
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.

God will only move us into the fullness of his plan for our lives as we prove our ability to handle all that the plan will require and demand of us. I’ve always said that the size of your office and your salary should be based on the number of keys you have, (locksmiths would rule) the amount of responsibility you hold and the degree of demands and requirements placed upon you on a daily basis. If this was the standard we based our salaries on, children’s minister positions would be among the top 3 highest paid positions in ministry.  But that’s a whole other article. The main point I’m trying to make here is that promotion comes with more than fame and glory. It also comes with more accountability, responsibility, and higher demands. If you have not allowed God to prune and mature you as needed then you will not survive the promotion. 

“Sometimes your dream will seem unreachable, but that doesn’t mean you give up on it.”

For a long time it looked like Joseph’s dream was so far out of reach. If he only focused on his circumstances he would have been tempted to get discouraged or given up on it and just become “another slave”. But it is clear that even in the midst of a very discouraging environment he still believed in the dream, recognized God’s hand in his life, looked to God for instruction and obeyed what God told him to do. The proof is in the fact that everything he put his hand to prospered, and he stood out among the other slaves. Because he chose to focus on the dream and yet still make the most of the journey towards that dream by remaining teachable, God was able to train him, mature him, and prepare him for the dream. There must have been times when he became disheartened or discouraged. He must have entertained thoughts of failure and feelings of wanting to give up on the dream. But he chose to set his eyes on the prize. He didn’t settle for just a calling he wanted the HIGH CALLING.

Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

When he had learned all he needed to in regards to true faith, God moved him to the next phase of his journey towards the dream……