“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
Acts 7:23-30
It was October, 2018. Ministry had become very difficult. For eighteen years I attempted to carry the weight of our small, worship community, and I began to feel the wear from the struggle. With our first official worship service on Easter Sunday 2020, Triumph Community Church was a labor of love not just for me, but for all who called the ministry their church home. Founded on the ideal that God had called us to demonstrate His love in a tangible way, we set out not to be church as usual, but to be an outreach community that loved unconditionally and served selflessly. Yet, that October, as I assembled the membership in the fellowship room, sitting on that stool, I tearfully shared with them what I believed God was saying to me regarding the future of the ministry.
I was tired. True, the LORD had sent several individuals to aide me in the call, ordained and lay alike. There was Minister Kenny Williamson, Hassie Gooch, Joe Malave, Abel Collazo, Tyrone Wimbley, Pam Lindsey, Keren Marshall, Pastor John Thompson, and Pastor Ben Curtis – just to name a few – all who came for a season and for one reason or another moved on to other ministries and callings. Yet, in spite of it all, I felt so alone, so ill equipped and unable to carry on the work we had together begun.
How do you know when it is time to move on?
The Bible tells us at forty Moses was compelled to visit his brothers in bondage. Seeing an Israelite being physically beaten by an Egyptian, Moses took matters into his own hands and struck the Egyptian down. Acts declares, “He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.” (Acts 7:25) In his heart and mind He believed he was doing the right thing, raised up by God in that moment to provide deliverance for his people. Surely they would understand. Surely they would embrace his ministry to them. Surely they would acknowledge the call that God had placed on his life on their behalf. After all he had position, authority, and opportunity. Was he not raised up in Pharoah’s house for such a time as this? Yet, their answer to him was, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” (Acts 7:27b-28a)
Many times it is difficult for us to grasp what God is trying to do through us in the moment, especially when by all indications it appears as if He has set us up to be successful and the results are lackluster. You have prepared your whole life for this moment, believing that God was going to use you to do something great for the kingdom only to question whether those whom you have been sent to lead feel the same sense of calling to follow. For Moses, this was the sign to him that his stay was no longer welcome, Exodus telling us that Pharaoh sought to take his life. So it was against this backdrop – failed leadership and alienation – that Moses left it all behind and moved on.
When I made the decision it was time to leave pastoring Triumph it took me a full year to do so. I consulted with many friends and ministry mentors and prayed diligently. Yet, it was one discussion I had with a longstanding member that told me it was time. After correcting them privately, they stormed out of the office and broadcasted publicly their disapproval of my leadership to all who would listen. Clearly I had failed them in my mind. But more so, I had failed my God.
Moving on is a difficult thing to do when one is totally invested in where one is. Truly one cannot do it unless they truly believe that God is in the transition. For sure, many times it takes a stern exclamation like those given to Moses or myself to drive home the reality that one may have overstayed their welcome. But, times of transition should not be viewed as a loss of previous status or calling, but instead the unleashing of opportunities prepared beforehand by a God Who is all-seeing, all-knowing and in complete control. The old Christian cliché is true: God closes one door in order to open up another. The call to the Christian is to ask, “Is it time to move on?”
How do you know you are having a burning bush moment?
The power of a new year is the willingness that everyone has to let go of the past and the openness to embrace the possibility of what is to come. It was another member of our small community, Minister Kelly Hicks, who coined a phrase that has been a staple of my faith vernacular: God takes you through something to take you to something. The hardships and difficulties that you have had to endure are the proving grounds for Christ to train you up in the things of Him in order to prepare you to be used by Him in the building of the kingdom. None of it is by chance. It is not merely the consequences of bad decisions on your part. Instead, it is the mysterious working out of His secret will for your life, divinely orchestrated by Him, causing them to work out for your good and His glory.
As you reflect upon 2023, the highs and the lows, the successes and the failures, I challenge you to move on from where you are and view this moment, this season, as your burning bush encounter with God. Personally for me, I have grown too complacent with the status quo. I am too comfortable in lackluster service. From eternity past I can hear my Savior, calling my name, saying to me, “…take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5b) He is saying the same thing to you.
This year, 2024, purpose to stand in the presence of your Creator. Purpose to lose all excuses regarding why you cannot follow after Him. Purpose to see where His hand is at work in your midst. And purpose to follow after Him with reckless abandon. Move on from the failings of the past and press on towards the promise of the future that you have in Him, making the most of the moment, knowing that it is He Who is at work in you to accomplish His good pleasure with your life and ministry. 2023 is over, with its missed opportunities and failed experiments. Before you is a new day, one where God has preordained your paths, ordered according to His express purposes for your life. In it He is challenging you to dream big, trust unconditionally, and rely unwaveringly. Let this day be the first day of the rest of your life. Surrender your all to Him and believe Him for the miracle that You have been waiting for…
…and watch HIM do it!
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21