I'm Stepping Down from my Role as Youth Pastor
“When the Lord whispers, listen.”
I’ll go ahead and acknowledge that this is a bittersweet blog. As I’m typing out these words, a flood of memories crowd my mind.
About 3 months ago the Lord made it very clear to me that my time in youth ministry was over. You can ask my wife, I wrestled back and forth for a while because I was fearful of making the wrong decision. Here’s a side piece of advice for you… When God tells you to do something, the only wrong decision is choosing to ignore Him.
As I began to pray about what my next steps would look like God made it ever so clear. He reminded me of what He called me to in the first place.
In 2017, I wrote “The Lord is calling me to ministry… specifically Evangelism” in my journal. I’m not even sure I knew what Evangelism was at the time. I had read a lot about Billy Graham and listened to his sermons and I had heard the term but I was nowhere close to being confident enough to step into it. So, I trusted God’s timing.
For those of you who have known me since I was in my 20’s this might come as a surprise to you, but I used to be incredibly shy and timid. I felt as if I lived in my brother and best friend’s shadow. I had that middle child vibe of just going with the flow and flying under the radar. However, in 2017, this changed. When I said yes to ministry, I also said yes to coming out of my shell a bit. In college, I was given opportunities to speak and to lead.
I fell in love with talking about God… What a good thing to fall in love with. However, throughout the years I have learned that there’s a big difference between talking about God and actually loving God. I’ve watched too many leaders talk about God but their actions don’t reflect a close relationship with Him. I wanted to change that. I knew that I was not immune from the pride they were subject to. I knew that Satan’s lures were out there for anyone to grab hold of. I wanted to do my best to prepare myself to withstand his attacks.
For complete vulnerability sake here are the two lies he comes at me with the most:
NOT GOOD ENOUGH
PRIDE
Funny right? The enemy convinces me that I’m not good enough and then when I overcome that, I can’t stop thinking about how good I am. Thankfully, I’ve read some wonderful books from pastors who have played a tremendous role in my life without even knowing it. Thank you Pastor Craig Groeschel for your most recent book, “Winning the War in Your Mind” and Pastor Levi Lusko for your amazing book “I Declare War”.
With that being said, God’s timing is clear and it’s now. As of July 1, I will be jumping headfirst into this new season of Evangelism where I hope to travel and speak about my Savior. What will this look like? I’m glad you asked.
I’ll be traveling and speaking at as many services as the Lord allows me to.
I’ll be releasing more spoken word content (6 over the next year)
I’ll be sending out a monthly newsletter/blog post the first Monday of every month
I’m currently writing a book (release date TBD)
Most importantly, I’ll be doing EVERYTHING for the glory of God.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
I would love it if you could share the word and this post. If you would like me to come to speak at your church or event, please use the booking page on my website or by filling out the form below! Most importantly, just lift me up in your prayers. A step like this doesn’t come without fears and questions. This is not only something I am passionate about— it’s something I am called to do. In other words, I HAVE to do this.
There is a specific thing I believe the Lord has placed on my mind about this transition. Currently, I believe there is a major gap in Evangelism… something we could be doing better. Evangelism currently lacks community. A speaker comes and speaks, and then leaves. I don’t want to carry on that commonality. I am determined to find a way to create authentic relationships and connections along the way. I want to be a part of your life and journey as you are a part of mine. Unfortunately, I also see a lot of burnout in Evangelism. Aspyn and I have already made the decision that we will have a home church to pour into us. We will not jeopardize our personal walk with the Lord at any time. I refuse to be a part of the burnout statistic in Evangelism. You cannot burn out if you’re walking in your calling.
With that being said, I look forward to seeing you this year! Click here to get the conversation started.
Thanks in advance for all the prayers.
After all, I am just a broken man loved by the Creator setting out to do what He has called me to do.
Always in your corner,
-LM
