Leading with a Lack
“Cheryl, I want you to lead digital for the ministry.” I was standing in my kitchen when my director called me to tell me that I would be leading our national ministry in Digital Strategies. My first response sounded more like Moses than Mary: Who, me?
I had no training or experience. I had no education in using digital. I didn’t even have a team of people to join me. My first reaction was to list all of the things I didn’t have.
You feed them. Jesus said this to Philip in the Gospels as 5,000 hungry people sat on the hillside around them. Jesus knew who He was talking to. He knew that Philip was not the owner of a restaurant or a grocer. He knew what Philip had, and He knew what he lacked. This didn’t stop Jesus from handing him this task.
With what? I feel deeply for Philip as he responded to this calling. He may have wondered if Jesus forgot who He was talking to and if Jesus was kidding. Jesus was not kidding.
How much bread do you have? Go and find out. Jesus was asking Philip to focus on what he had, not what was lacking. He did not want Philip to guess or make assumptions. He wanted him to go and look. He was asking Philip to take an inventory of God’s provision.
You know what happened next. Jesus took a meager lunch and turned it into abundance—more than enough.
Many of you have stories like mine. You were given responsibilities that felt beyond you. As you looked at what you had, it did not seem like nearly enough.
This article is not long enough for me to tell you all of the stories I have heard from friends of how Jesus has given you more than you could imagine in response to your willingness to obey His call on your life.
Among our tribe of Digital Strategies leaders are visionaries and activators. We have dreamers and planners. We are a group that sees opportunities to leverage innovation for the sake of the Great Commission. Our plans require expensive equipment, a big team, robust infrastructure, and strong collaboration. Your current reality may not include any of those things. But what do you have? Take an inventory and thank God for the flip phone, the radio, and the flashlight. Thank Him for your calling and thank Him for His presence. Then, do whatever you can with what you have and see what He does!
