“You’ve got the wrong person.”
That is something I have said to God before. God’s call on our lives can feel overwhelming at times. When we look at the awe-inspiring miracles in the book of Acts, it may feel honest to say that our everyday lives feel a little more ordinary. We can say ordinary like it’s a bad word.
“It’s just me. I’m just average.”
Maybe Grace’s Awake the Lake Vision seems larger than life. More than we can seem to process. 30,000 lives changed by 2035? I’m not sure how I fit into that or how to even make a dent in such a massive undertaking.
When God’s Call Feels Bigger Than You
Living for Jesus can feel overwhelming. Or maybe intimidating. I don’t think that’s all bad. I believe that we should feel the weight of what Jesus is calling us to. We should be all in, committed, and give it everything we’ve got.
But sometimes we can be so paralyzed. We don’t take any steps forward, and no progress is made. We often look at the disciples in the book of Acts and just see these giants of faith performing amazing miracles, forgetting that at the end of the Gospels they were hiding and scared in the upper room, afraid to leave.
They are just like you and I.
And they didn’t achieve those miracles or the church growth by any of their own strength. They took it day by day and accepted the ‘little’ assignments that came their way. They were open to God using them. That openness is what changes everything.
What if we started by committing to something simple like being Intentional Friends to the people in our lives? At Grace, we define being an Intentional Friend as someone who partners with God to build healthy relationships and restore broken ones.
The Power of Being an Intentional Friend
I spoke with someone recently who said that she’s meeting with about 5 women one-on-one to encourage and mentor them. She said: “I’m just available to them.”
I stopped her and said: “Do you realize how rare it is for someone to be available?”
Simple things like having space in your schedule to meet with someone and honestly listen to what’s happening in their lives is transformative. But we underestimate it and undervalue it.
The Ministry of Presence
One of my great heroes of the Christian faith was named Henri Nouwen. He’s up there for me with C.S. Lewis and Mother Teresa. His life story is fascinating. He was a Dutch-born Catholic priest, renowned theologian, and one of the most widely read spiritual writers of the 20th century. After his ordination in the Netherlands, Nouwen pursued studies in psychology and theology. He built a prestigious academic career, teaching at institutions like the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School, and Harvard Divinity School. But despite his academic success, Nouwen struggled with inner darkness, loneliness, and a deep need for belonging. Seeking a simpler, community-focused life, he left Harvard to become the pastor at L’Arche Daybreak in Richmond Hill, Ontario—a community for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Someone at the peak of their worldly success and influence walked away from it all to find more belonging and to build deeper friendships. Henri Nouwen knew the importance of an Intentional Friend. He popularized a concept that is now known as the ministry of presence. It’s a great first step toward becoming more Intentional Friends.
Nouwen describes the ministry of presence like this:
“More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that my time is soon taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops, preventing me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.”
Changing the World One Person at a Time
Now to me, those don’t seem like overwhelming or intimidating things. They are actually things that we all do day in and day out.
What’s the difference, then?
Intentionality. Mindfulness.
So I invite us to change the world and influence our region for Christ by knowing our neighbors’ names. Reclaiming meal times together. Be fully present while talking to them, not distracted by our phones or already mentally moving on to our next thing that needs to get done. Listen to each other well.
How can we change the world and participate in the Awake the Lake Vision? By being an Intentional Friend to those around us. One person at a time.
This blog post was contributed by Pastor Will Bakker.
