For Such a Time as This

At every turn I have taken in ministry, I have been plagued by a comment that at one point hurt me very deeply. You see, I have been blessed to be the daughter of a mighty minister of the Gospel. My father worked hard as a pastor and grew every church that was under him. When I was 12 years old he became a presiding bishop in our church, overseeing the Churches of God of Prophecy first in the Northwest territory (comprised of MT, WY, ND, and SD), then in Oklahoma and Arkansas, and finally here in Tennessee. He currently oversees over 120 churches. I am immensely proud of him and the work he has done. However, because of his authority, it has been presumed by some that any chance I have had in ministry, be it via music, teaching, or preaching was given to me because of his title. I have often heard "you only get to _____ because of who your dad is" and they fill in the blank with whatever I am participating in at the time. For many years it hurt my feelings. I often felt like I should give up these activities if I am only being asked to participate because of my last name, but that has changed now.

After I made the announcement via social media that I was pursuing ministry full time, these comments went into overdrive. As I have tried to steady myself in the Lord and His Word, these are the conclusions I have reached on the matter:

1. My father is no one to be ashamed of. I am blessed to have a father who stands up for what is right. He is a man of integrity who stands by what he says. He is a man who was never accused of getting an advantage in ministry, because he had to go out and make his own way. When he was young all he wanted to do was preach but no one gave him a chance, so he found a cheap funeral home, stood on the corner with a guitar singing and held a revival in the funeral parlor! He worked hard to do what God called Him to do and never abandoned the Call.

2. My last name is nothing to be ashamed of. As I said, my dad was never handed anything, but the one advantage he had was that he stood on his parents' shoulders. As I have blogged before, his mother and father sacrificed to obey the will of the Lord. My grandpa would say, "son, some people get paid to preach, and some people pay to preach" and he certainly paid to preach. My grandmother in particular taught my dad the value of knowing the scripture and of living a holy life. The night my father was saved he called and told her he had something to tell her, she said, "no, I have something to tell you. You got saved tonight. I know because I have fasted and prayed for three days." I stand on my father's shoulders, he stood on her shoulders, and she stood on the Word of God. 

3. I believe it is up to me to use every advantage I have to fulfill God's calling on my life. My deepest desire is to fulfill God's will in my life, and that means my deepest desire right now is to preach the Gospel. I've come to a point that I feel that even if I only get opportunities because of my name, I should be grateful for the opportunity. I am blessed to be a part of a church that not only affirms women preachers, it promotes women preachers. That is a fact I am extremely proud of and will not squander any chance I have to get behind a pulpit, podium, music stand, or bull horn I am permitted to use. 

4. I believe that I was placed in this family at this time for a purpose. As I was thinking and praying about these attacks, the Lord brought to my remembrance Esther 4:14 which says, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” In all the times I have heard the story of Esther preached, I've never heard anyone say "she only got that chance because she was pretty (2:17) and found favor with the king."It didn't matter why she made it into the king's court, it mattered that she was there on a mission from God to save her people. Romans 8:28 tells us "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." God created Esther to be a woman who the king would want in order to fulfill His purpose, likewise God knew who my family would be in order to fulfill the specific purpose He has for me. I am convinced that like Esther, if I remain silent at THIS time, I will perish because it's just this simple- I'm made to preach, if I don't preach I don't think I can go on. And like Esther, I believe that I have come into the Kingdom of God for this time and this generation. 

What it all comes down to is this; attacks to shut up someone speaking the Word of God come from the enemy. It doesn't matter why I get to preach, it only matters that I walk through the doors God has opened, regardless of whose hand He used to open it.