Last December, I challenged you to consider the following questions as you began your Advent journey:
- Have you heard God calling you to take a new first step?
- How is that step leading you into a new or deeper relationship with God?
- What frightens you about taking that step?
- How will that first step facilitate the ministry God is calling you to do?
- Will you take that step?
Advent is the beginning of the church’s liturgical year. It is a time to prepare. I believe that a vital part of preparation is reflection.
- How has your ministry and relationship with God been this last year?
- What opportunities has God given you that you have done and left undone?
- How have you experienced God’s grace this past year?
- What has been you experience of giving and receiving men’s ministry in the past year?
God, many times, calls us into challenging, yet amazing, opportunities to experience the fullness of ministry. In response to the call, God asks that we take action. I see this as I begin to read the Christmas story in Luke 2:
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”
The shepherds experienced the angel’s call and responded by going to the birthplace of Jesus.
As you reflect on the past year, ask how is God calling you to respond in the new year.
Don’t be afraid! Trust in the plan that God has for you and live into the new opportunities ahead.
In Revelation 21:5, God tells John, “I am making everything new!”
These words are true for us as well.
The Rev. Dr. Rick Vance, director of the Center for Men’s Ministries
General Commission on UM Men
Originally published by United Methodist Men, Nov. 28, 2018.