Douglas Young

I read a book a while back that noted how the Psalmist seemed fond of new songs. His express desire was to sing “a new song”  to the Lord (Psalm 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1). I must admit, I feel the same way about a lot of things in life.

The longing for something new isn’t abnormal. It’s actually natural, and at times needed. The covenant offered at Sinai was in need of being replaced by something “new” (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13). But something new is generally risky. The “old wine” might be what we are used to, and often, we will only take on something new if we can put it in old wineskins (Luke 5:36-39). After all, we are entrenched in the belief that “the old is better” (v. 39). But the inborn sense of desire for something new must be dealt with. You can only avoid it for so long before it becomes deconstructive.

For a while now, I’ve considered breaking free from local church pulpit work to do something new. I don’t want to quit ministering, but I do want to minister in a way that I sense betters serves people. Yes, that’s exactly what I meant!  “What can better serve people than to preach ‘the good news’ to them?” you might be thinking.  Look,  preaching and teaching doesn’t just take place in church auditoriums. It happens in a number of different environments, in numeous venues. But before one thinks that a Sunday morning assembly is “the” best place to minister, I would suggest such one takes a Sunday, stands behind a pulpit for 30 minutes, and speaks . What you might see might change your mind! Sleeping. Doodling. Texting. Reading the Bible but not following along with the minister. People looking around and watching what others are doing. All of this happens every Sunday all over the country.

So, for the time being, I am transitioning into something new. I will no longer be involved in full-time preaching work. Instead, my wife  and I have chosen to minister together in the lives of children at a nearby children’s home in Portales, NM.

I want something new. I need something new. The New Mexico Christian Children’s Home has stepped in to offer Tisha and I an opportunity to do something new.

It will be tough. We both know that. That is, in part, why we want to do it. We are concerned for the future of the church, and we long for Jesus and his church to be integral to the lives of today’s youth.

I ask that you will pray for us as we begin to transition, as well as keep us in your prayers as jump into this work with both feet!

It’s time to move forward. As God told Moses and the Israelites at Horeb, “You have stayed at this mountain long enough. Resume your journey…” (Deuteronomy 1:6-7, HCSB), so also is it time to move on and away from what’s gone on here for the last several days.

This morning I was reading through Acts 6 and I was struck by the life of Stephen. He was one of the “seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom” selected to tend to the Grecian widows who’d been neglected in the daily distribution. He was also described as “full of faith” (v. 5). Still later, we read of Stephen as “full of grace and power…performing great wonders and signs among the people” (v. 8). He met formidable opposition from those of the Freedman’s Synagogue, but “they were not able to stand up against the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (v. 10). Ultimately, his history lesson of Israel’s rejections of God’s prophets over the years, which culminated in the rejection of the Messiah, got him killed. But what a compelling argument he was for the faith of Christ!

The guy chosen to “wait on tables” (v. 2) apparently had much more to offer. And he did. Inside of him was a heart for souls. His ministry was about meeting the needs of others. If by food distribution, so be it. He offered food that met physical needs, but he was also willing to serve food “that lasts for eternal life” (John 6:27).

Service, in whatever form, is mighty ministry. Jesus boldly proclaimed the “living word” with passion and urgency; yet, washing his disciples’s feet was no less ministry, and no less significant.

Like Jesus, Stephen wasn’t a one talent man. His selection for a specific work didn’t mean he wasn’t fit for anything else. In a sense, I think it helped groom him for more. Unfortunately, it seems to have been a life cut short, but like others who have gone on before, “though he is dead, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).