In early December, I listened to a sermon by Pastor Mike Todd that became the inspiration for my word of the year.
I stumbled upon Pastor Todd & Transformation Church via Marrica Evans, Dallas based photographer and instagrammer @flauntyourfro, in late August. Though I don’t listen to his sermons nearly as often as I should, I can confidently say that every one I have heard lifts, touches, and convicts my spirit. His words speak to my soul in a way that I haven’t felt in years.
This particular sermon was the second in a series called “Recalculating.” Among the many parts of this message that hit home, I especially loved Pastor Todd’s remarks on stewardship and its connection to receiving God’s blessings. He directs listeners to the story of the first disciples in Luke 5:1-8.
The First Disciples
In this account, Jesus happens upon Simon Peter and his crew cleaning their boat and fishing nets, despite the fact that they had failed to catch anything the night before. Jesus – as He does often during this time period in the Bible – has drawn a crowd and asks Simon Peter to sit in his boat and preach to the multitude from off shore.
After his message, He tells Simon Peter to take his boat out to sea and let his nets down again. Peter notes that they caught nothing the previous night, but ‘obliges’ Jesus anyway. When his crew goes to pull up the nets, there are so many fish, the boat almost capsizes. They must call other nearby fishing boats to help them out. Understanding the error of his doubt, Simon Peter apologizes to Jesus. Jesus forgives him, noting that from now on Simon Peter and his crew will be fishers of men.
Reflection
Pastor Todd points out that the reason Jesus is drawn to bless Simon Peter and his crew, is because they are stewarding over what was given to them, even though it hadn’t worked.
I don’t know about you, but when my passion for a place or space gives way to burnout or fatigue, I’m ready to move on. This quite often means that the rigor with which I once tended to that situation, relationship, job, etc., is replaced with halfheartedness. There are times I am not only unable to care for that space or place as I once did, but I am unwilling to. For me, when I sense a chapter drawing to a close, I reroute my energy to navigating the bitter winds of change that are sure to soon follow.
And the aforementioned winds have already begun to blow. I can feel the comfortable, familiar avenues I’ve traveled for almost a decade, winding to a close. Some time last year, I began to make my peace with this, and initially began shifting my energy to investigating new opportunities. That is, I did, until I listened to this sermon and it occurred to me that poor stewardship over the last of pages of this chapter of my life could result in a new chapter that looked disconcertingly similar to the old.
In other words, God could not and would not bless me with more, if I could not be faithful with what I already had. Much like the parable of the talents, the servant who made the most of their little was rewarded with much.
A Word for 2019
In 2019, I believe (and claim) that I’m heading into what Pastor Todd calls a bamboo season, or a season of unusual growth and acceleration. In order to receive those blessings, however, I need to steward over my job, my apartment, my schoolwork, my blog, my relationships, and my finances.
Before writing this post, I listened to this sermon again and it was even better than the first time. Pastor Todd really had me shouting aloud like my daddy.
My favorite part of his message was the last part, where he notes the blessings are not only for us, they’re for us to be a blessing to others.
Even if you’re not a believer, I highly encourage you to listen to “Recalculating (Part 2): Bamboo Szn” here. You can also download individual episodes from the Transformation Church podcast via iTunes.
I also turned six of my favorite quotes into graphics to share on Pinterest.
So, tell me, what do you think of my word of the year?
Seriously great read ❤️