Last post I showed you a few pictures of our trip to Alaska, although I mentioned that the pictures don’t do it justice. Well, while we were there, one of the things we got to do was dogsledding.
They took us up this mountain, where we got off the monopod (the vehicle that took us up) and got onto these large golf carts that had teams of 16 dogs, and we got to go around a 1 mi. off-road track.
The dogs were excited to work!
One of the first things we noticed was the excitement of the dogs. As soon as the vehicle got up there and people started getting off, the dogs got so excited! These dogs wanted to work… they wanted to run and lead the sled.
The musher that took out our group of six with her dogs, and she shared this story with us…
One of the dogs was supposed to be retiring as it was 11 years old and they typically retire between the ages of 8-10. This dog noticed that she was preparing to go with the other dogs, and it realized that it was going to be left home.
This dog took everything off the bed, and then spent the day dragging the mattress off the frame. It wasn’t going to be left behind to just rest. It wanted to go. It wanted to work!
These dogs are bred to work.
These dogs are bred to work. And they are passionate about it. And as I was thinking about it, I thought about Eph. 2:10,
“for we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV 1983)
When was the last time you were excited to “work” for God, and do what He has called you to do? When the church is doing an event, are you going to “rip” the mattress off the bed” if it seems like you will be left out of what we are doing?
Following the Musher…
Every time we were stopped, the dogs would keep looking around to see if we were getting ready to start again, but the lead dogs are just looking to see what directions the musher is going to give. They don’t just go when they want, they wait for the musher to let them know when they can leave, And when they are told to go, they follow the musher’s directions.
As we look at the church, I don’t think the pastor is the musher. I see the pastor as the lead dog. He isn’t called to lead the team to pull the church where he wants it to go. He is the lead dog following God’s direction.
God is the Musher. He gives the directions. Hopefully everyone is in tune with God, but the pastor is going to help make sure that everything is happening the way God wants it to, and in His timing!
And it takes the whole team to keep the sled moving. At one point the team in front of us had the musher kind of push from the back when they were struggling up a hill, but our team drove until they got back, and then they got clipped to the side and rested from their labor.
Christianity is NOT a spectator sport.
Christianity is NOT a spectator sport. We are not meant to “watch” other people do ministry while we cheer them on from the sidelines.
When we came to this church, one of the things we noticed was that this church was a missions church. For those who serve here, it’s like we get to be missionaries while living at home (shouldn’t everyone feel this way).
And as William Carey believed, we shouldn’t want to be on the sidelines while “the world is dying lost today!”
Do you care about your family members who don’t know the Lord? Your neighbors? Your friends? Those here on Elm Street and in the Twin Cities area?
Where is our passion for being used by Jesus to help build His Kingdom? I heard that when the congregational meeting happened last month, that there were no real ideas brought forward to help the church move forward, and that there wasn’t anyone new willing to step up and be a part of the ministry of the church.
And this could easily depress a pastor, but those dogs reminded me that my call is to be excited to go where God calls us to go.
How many of us have been praying God to do great things, and for the opportunity to do great things for God right here on Elm Street.
And our goals, especially personally, should be to be successful. Are we, like William Carey, “afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter?”
We should, as Carey says, ”Expect great things from God! But He calls us to be a part of it. On our side, we need to attempt great things for God.”
We need to find our passion for His work here again. And as I thank God for renewing that passion in me, my prayer is that God will give you that passion for the work He has for you to do. My prayer for you is that you will get so excited for His work that you will want to rip things apart if you’re going to be left on the sidelines.
Would you pray that prayer too? Would you pray for God to give you a passion for His ministry, and for Him to let you know how you can be used… what good works you have been prepared to do.
Along the Multicolored Road 
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