Saturday, I received news that a friend of mine had died. He was a few years younger than me, wife, three young kids, and a great minister. His unexpected death has sent waves of sorrow over the people that knew and loved him.
I am getting to the age where I have known many people who have died. Friends, acquaintances, family members- I've been to a few funerals. However, this friend's death was different.
Matt Davidson and I worked together at Southern Acres Christian Church when I was Minister to High School Students. I had always wanted to be a church planter, and I had sensed the Lord calling me in that direction, but I was hesitating.
Matt encouraged me.
Matt asked me what in the world I was waiting for.
Matt told me to go after the dream.
In my life, there have been very few people that I have met that truly encourage people to go after a dream or a calling. When most people hear of some impossible task or out-of-the-box calling that someone has, their immediate reaction is to DISCOURAGE. Most people I know feel that it is their responsibility to point out why it won't succeed, why it is foolish, why going after this dream is a foolish waste of time and energy.
I think people who discourage dreams are people who have had their own dreams discouraged.
Matt was a person who believed in me. He was a person who believed in people. He was a person who believed that the worst thing that could happen to a person is to be called to an enormous Kingdom-related task and be too afraid or too discouraged to go after it.
Why do people laugh at the dreams of others? Why do people discourage the entrepreneurs, the risk-takers, the pioneers, the Star-Trek-like adventurers who boldly go where no man has ever gone before? What is it in human nature that makes us want everyone to be uniform, to be the same, to never take bold risks and risk both huge failure and huge success?
I am thankful for Matt. God placed him in my life at just the right time to encourage me, to believe in me, and to never let me settle for mediocrity. Without him, I doubt I would have planted Catalyst and been where I am today. I wasn't bold enough to be a church planter on my own.
In the spirit of Matt Davidson, I say that when we find dreamers and risk-takers and pioneers in the body of Christ, willing to go where no man has gone before, willing to walk the narrow road, willing to risk it all for the glory of God, we should encourage them. Encourage them to go after the dream, to go without fear and embrace that high and awesome work that God created them for. If we had more encouragers like that in the church, I believe the church would be a much more exciting place.
Thanks, Matt, for being the person that saw through the immaturity and craziness and stupidity that was so prevalent in my life at the time. Thanks for seeing past all that and seeing the heart God gave me for following Him. Thanks for being the voice that said, "Go" in a world of voices that were constantly saying, "No." Thanks for going to bat for me in elders meetings, setting up my church planting evaluation and training, and setting up Catalyst to succeed. We're bringing to fruition the vision you saw four years ago. We'll keep it going. Hopefully I can be to someone else what you were to me- the great encourager.
I am getting to the age where I have known many people who have died. Friends, acquaintances, family members- I've been to a few funerals. However, this friend's death was different.
Matt Davidson and I worked together at Southern Acres Christian Church when I was Minister to High School Students. I had always wanted to be a church planter, and I had sensed the Lord calling me in that direction, but I was hesitating.
Matt encouraged me.
Matt asked me what in the world I was waiting for.
Matt told me to go after the dream.
In my life, there have been very few people that I have met that truly encourage people to go after a dream or a calling. When most people hear of some impossible task or out-of-the-box calling that someone has, their immediate reaction is to DISCOURAGE. Most people I know feel that it is their responsibility to point out why it won't succeed, why it is foolish, why going after this dream is a foolish waste of time and energy.
I think people who discourage dreams are people who have had their own dreams discouraged.
Matt was a person who believed in me. He was a person who believed in people. He was a person who believed that the worst thing that could happen to a person is to be called to an enormous Kingdom-related task and be too afraid or too discouraged to go after it.
Why do people laugh at the dreams of others? Why do people discourage the entrepreneurs, the risk-takers, the pioneers, the Star-Trek-like adventurers who boldly go where no man has ever gone before? What is it in human nature that makes us want everyone to be uniform, to be the same, to never take bold risks and risk both huge failure and huge success?
I am thankful for Matt. God placed him in my life at just the right time to encourage me, to believe in me, and to never let me settle for mediocrity. Without him, I doubt I would have planted Catalyst and been where I am today. I wasn't bold enough to be a church planter on my own.
In the spirit of Matt Davidson, I say that when we find dreamers and risk-takers and pioneers in the body of Christ, willing to go where no man has gone before, willing to walk the narrow road, willing to risk it all for the glory of God, we should encourage them. Encourage them to go after the dream, to go without fear and embrace that high and awesome work that God created them for. If we had more encouragers like that in the church, I believe the church would be a much more exciting place.
Thanks, Matt, for being the person that saw through the immaturity and craziness and stupidity that was so prevalent in my life at the time. Thanks for seeing past all that and seeing the heart God gave me for following Him. Thanks for being the voice that said, "Go" in a world of voices that were constantly saying, "No." Thanks for going to bat for me in elders meetings, setting up my church planting evaluation and training, and setting up Catalyst to succeed. We're bringing to fruition the vision you saw four years ago. We'll keep it going. Hopefully I can be to someone else what you were to me- the great encourager.
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