Aug 26, 2019
Prayerful Transitions
Lessons Learned on a Bulldozer
As a young boy growing up on a dairy farm, I had the opportunity of a lifetime one summer afternoon—the chance to drive a John Deere 350 Bulldozer. Little did I realize that responsibility beyond my personal ability came with this privilege to drive.
I was riding with my dad on our farm’s bulldozer when we came to the gate leading into the north pasture. My dad said that he would open the gate, and I would drive the bulldozer straight into the pasture. He showed me the lever that would put the dozer into forward motion and explained how to use the two handles that steer the bulldozer to the left or to the right. The instructions and encouragement that my dad gave me strengthened me for the task at hand.
Clearly, this is not the end of a story that is worth retelling. The pasture that I was driving the bulldozer into was far from flat. From my boyhood vantage point, it felt like I was driving down a steep cliff. The bulldozer quickly picked up speed and felt like it was beginning to speed out of my control. I cried out to my dad in fear, and he told me to put my feet on the dash, grab hold of the steering handles, and pull back with all my might to regain control. During this time of realizing that my responsibility was beyond my ability, my dad helped me.
As it turns out, I did not have the strength to stop the bulldozer on my own. The bulldozer was now approaching 500 mph (probably the speed was more like 5 mph, but as a young boy, I thought that I was approaching the speed of sound). The accelerating dozer tracks were making incredibly loud clacking noises as the engine roared and my body froze in the seat. I cried out to my dad to save me. At this point, my dad calmly ran to the back of the dozer, pulled back on the handles and brought the dozer to a safe stop, right where he intended to have the bulldozer parked. This is where my dad upheld me.
At this point in the story, you, as an astute Sabbath Recorder reader, are undoubtedly thinking that I cannot even drive a bulldozer. And, you are correct. As we enter into this exciting season of transition as a Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, I believe that it is incredibly important for us to remember that neither do we steer the future. We need to continuously seek to be in the presence of our Heavenly Father, the One Who strengthens, helps, and upholds.
In Isaiah 41:10, God prepares His people for a tremendous transition ahead. He does not offer them a fairy tale future, but He offers them His presence. Notice in this passage that the presence He offers is manifest through three verbs: “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I believe that the transition ahead brings Seventh Day Baptists the opportunity to experience God’s strengthening, helping, and upholding in a new and exciting way, in which we can increasingly experience the presence of God with us.
STRENGTHEN. I believe that we need to pray for God to strengthen us where we already are strong. One of our greatest strengths is the people that God has brought to leadership roles amongst Seventh Day Baptists. We have an opportunity to passionately pray for God to strengthen the very gifted and talented people already serving:
General Conference directors, staff, council members, and society members; our pastors; and our lay leaders within individual churches.
HELP. We also need to cry out to God for help in kingdom work that God has called us to which stretches us beyond our comfort zone. There is tremendous work that is already bearing fruit, but there is much more to lean into—and work that cannot be done on our own strength. The specific areas of work that I believe God is calling us to lean into all the more include:
• Leadership Development
• Church Revitalization
• Church Planting
• Gospel Proclamation
UPHOLD. Finally, there are elements during this season of transition in which we must simply cry out to God to carry us—to do a work that only He alone can do. It is from this need of God’s upholding that we embrace the challenge given to Seventh Day Baptists by Rev. Rod Henry in 1998: “Our challenge to Every Seventh Day Baptist: Pray for a fresh movement of God among us—revival!!! …to experience a renewed love for the Lord and a passion for his work.”
During this season of transition, we are not called to simply steer the bulldozer of kingdom work. I certainly have not found success in that personally. We desperately need to cry out to God together in prayer, that He will strengthen, help, and uphold us as a Seventh Day Baptist General Conference for His glory and praise. That is an ongoing transition that I look forward to experiencing together.
