Strength/ Weakness

Brian Brophy is a Youth Minister in Pennyrile, KY. I had the privilege to attend university with Brian and we had many of the same classes. Brian is a good minister. Brian seeks to serve God and serve his students everyday in everything that he does. I am proud to know Brian and I am proud to endorse him here.
Brian has had his second article published on the Youth Specialties website. The latest article is entitled, Jesus Called. He Wants His Students Back. As I read the article, I fought back tears because I realized that I’m not alone. Here is another minister, who I graduated with, who is my friend, who deals with the same insecurities and the same feelings of insignificance that I deal with. The article (and the reminder) is summed up in the final paragraph:

Sometimes we don’t know the impact we have. Sometimes we never will. When we feel inadequate, helpless, and unsuccessful, those may be the times that God received a great return on an investment. We may not be able to get church boards and youth committees to understand the logic of the upside-down kingdom, but we can be assured that our vocation is understood by the One who matters most.

This article couldn’t have come at a better time. For me, it is spring break. I have been taking these few days to reevaluate what it is that I do. I am a campus minister. I do not work for a church or eldership. I work for a school. This job has a whole different set of headaches. I realized that I have been a little like the wicked servant found in Matthew 25. I have taken the “talent” that God has blessed me with (this ministry, its freedoms, my calling) and effectively buried it by living and ministering cautiously. Through the article, I was again reminded that, in ministry, Christ said that his “grace is enough; it’s all you need.” His strength in made powerful, effecive in my weakness. So, like Brian and the Apostle Paul, I can say “Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen (the headaches, the weaknesses, the insecurities). I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.” Thanks Brother! Press on. Fight the Fight. Stand Firm.