Capable of More

    About 2 months ago I was laying on my face in prayer before service on a Wednesday night. I was praying for the students and leaders that would walk into the room later that night to encounter the Lord. As I laid there the Lord began to speak to me and in the process of what He was saying, I was reminded of a scene from a movie. The movie, Facing the Giants. The scene, the death crawl. 

    If you have never seen it I would encourage you to pause and look it up on youtube real quick. If you have seen it, here is a quick recap. 

    There is a particular guy on the team the coach recognizes as a leader. One day during practice this particular player points out that the game is already a loss and they are not going to win. So the coach calls on him to get up and do the death crawl again (crawl on all fours without letting your knees touch the ground with somebody on your back). The player says, “To the 30?” To which the coach replies, “I think you can make it to the 50.” All the coach asks of this player is that he gives his absolute best. Before the player begins he is blindfolded by the coach because he doesn’t want him to give up when he could actually keep going. So he begins crawling. Along the way the player begins to say it hurts and that he can’t keep going, to which the coach keeps yelling “Don’t quit!” and “You said you would give it your all!” This takes place for a while and the coach keeps yelling and encouraging him to keep going. Finally the player gets to a place he collapses. The crazy moment is when the player realize he didn’t make it to the 50, but al the way to the end zone. In the final part the coach calls out the leadership qualities in this young man and shares the team’s need for him to be that leader. 

    If you do not want to run through a wall after watching that scene then something is wrong with you. I have watched it plenty of times over these last two months and I still get chills and all the emotions stir up inside of me. 

    This came to mind because I heard the Lord telling me that it is time to push myself, our leaders, and our youth into a new season of growth. A season that we will not feel capable of doing, but like the coach, the Lord is next to us pushing us and calling things out in us we do not see in ourselves yet. A season where laziness is left behind. A season where “I don’t feel like it” is not accepted. A season where we will give our all everyday regardless if the tank is at 100% or 40%. Why? Because like this player…we are capable of doing so much more if we would give our best. 

    Working with teenagers I hear all the comments about how this generation is lazy and do not know how to be hard workers. Fingers are often pointed at the time spent on their phones and playing video games as part of the issue. I struggle to hear people say these things though. These students are not responsible for the world they were born into. They are not responsible for the culture to which they were raised in. They are at the mercy of the generations that came before them. It is easier to say they are the problem instead of facing the reality that we created this very culture. Yes there is an issue with young people not having the drive, not having the grit to stick things out, but when is the last time you help train up a young person instead of writing them off? I am heavy on this for two reasons, #1: Young people still need adults in their lives to teach and mentor them. #2: If we are not careful we will focus so much on someone else’s issue that we will be lulled into the very same thing. Don’t fall asleep to laziness. 

Important: Hard work is necessary at any age

    The question becomes this…Jack, why are you sharing this with us? Why are you taking the time to type all this out. The answer is this. I believe that this word is not just for me and JRNY Youth. I believe this word is for anyone who is willing to hear and receive it. You are capable of doing more! There are things that you perceive as impossible but they are not. Do not become lazy or even comfortable with where you are at. The Lord is still calling you to give your best and not to quit. These things will not just happen, they will come about as we allow the Lord and others around us to push us past what is comfortable and convenient. 

    All of this hits close to home because for the last year I have been pushed to grow as a leader. There have been many of times I have been called into my lead pastors office or he has stepped into mine and corrected me on things I have done wrong or get on to me for things I should be doing. I can tell you that when these moments happen I am not full of love haha! My initial reaction is frustration. No one likes being told they are wrong or not doing something good enough when you feel like you’ve put so much into something. For me that conversation and what is said plays in my head for the rest of the day. I get into the vehicle and start telling the Lord, can you believe this! I lay it all out to the Lord and tell Him what I would like to say to my lead pastor. I do this trying to justify myself and my actions instead of actually listening. It is usually when I am done and start to pray that the Lord begins to convict me and shows me how right my lead pastor is and how wrong I am. 

    This can be a hard pill to swallow at times. There have been moments where it was really difficult for me, yet as I grow and mature I have found a way that helps ease the medicine. One of the biggest things that helps when receiving correction like this is my relationship with my leader. It just so happens that my leader is my brother, so some may say that is cheating, but I need you to hear this. Because I have a good relationship with my leader I know that his correction is not meant for my destruction but for my growth. I know he loves me and wants the best for me, so as he is correcting me and calling things out in me, it is to see me succeed. If there is no relationship it is really easy to see through a lens that we have created that has our leader wanting to harm us. Since we do not know them, we do not know their intentions, all correction becomes critical of not just what we have done, but of who we are. We fall into the trap that all discipline is an attack on you. 

       For me my pastor is like the coach from the movie. He is the one encouraging me and pushing me when things are hard, when things start to hurt, when I want to give up. He does this because there are things he sees in me that I can not necessarily see in myself right now. There are talents he sees that I have and unless pushed will not be developed. Becuase I know my leader, his intention isn’t to grow his “ministry”, but to see me grow as a person. So if the Lord calls me somewhere else one day, I can be healthy and growing for the next people I get to serve. 

I am capable of more…but laziness and complacency won’t get me there. 

    Even with that relationship, it doesn’t mean I am perfect. There are still moments that I struggle with receiving this correction. As I mentioned earlier, I take these things to the Lord in prayer and He has a way of doing things that help put things into perspective. I am more than just someone who follows, but I am also one who is a leader over others as well. Whether it be the youth students or the adults that serve the youth with me and Katie. I can tell you that there are times where I am frustrated with those I lead I am feel that I need to correct them on what they are doing. There are moments I come home and share with Katie, “I can’t believe this is still a problem.” Or “Haven’t I said that 100 times already!” Quite a few moments of, “Why can’t they get it?” This is when the Lord speaks up and says, now you know how your leader feels with you…You ever just want to tell God to be quiet? Gut check, but it’s the truth. How often do I get frustrated with those I lead just like my leader feels with me? 

    It is in this realization that I have to come to terms with this truth. I cannot get angry with those I lead for not stepping up or changing if I am unwilling to do it for my leader. Why would I ever expect those I lead to raise the bar to a level I refuse to? I truly believe that God will not bless that. It’s easy to point fingers at the boss. It’s easy to get together with other employees and run your mouth about how you would do things. But for a moment pause and ask yourself how you would feel for those under you to do the same thing. You don’t know the weight they carry, just like those you lead don’t know your weight. You don’t know the things they do when no one is around just like those under you. 

You are capable of more! 

    I hope this can be a Facing the Giants moment for you. For a moment I want to be the coach and encourage you to keep going and do not stop. I know it hurts at times, but you are capable of more. I know it’s easy to walk away, but you are capable of more. I know it takes faith, but you are capable of more. I know you don’t feel like it, but you are capable of more. For some of you the issue isn’t that you are lazy. You are hard at work…but let me challenge you in this. You are capable of doing better. You are capable of not doing a lot of things, but doing the right things. You are capable of more. 

You are capable of being a better spouse

You are capable of being a better parent 

You are capable of being a better friend

You are capable of being a better leader

You are capable of being a better servant

You are capable of more!

    I know you are, because I know the One who made you. I know you are, because I know the One to whom you are capable of doing it through.