Planting Churches - Romans - pages 177-183

“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where it was not known, so that I wouldn’t be building on someone else’s foundation.” – Romans 15:20

This verse serves as a reminder that the road to your destiny isn’t always paved.  Most paths are still waiting to be discovered and cleared out.  I’m not unlike others who waver in the face of challenge.  I ask myself the same questions of self-doubt wondering if I’m equal to the task.  But where would Christianity be if everyone was waiting for someone else to blaze the trail? 

I’ve always wrestled with building on someone else’s foundation.  I don’t think it’s because I don’t know how to submit to authority or respect other people’s visions.  I just feel like I’m cheating when I draft behind someone else’s leadership.  I feel that I was created to be an entrepreneur. 

“It has always been my ambition…”  Those six words strike a chord with me.  There has always been something inside of me that loved going first in a dare, loved taking the risk to find out something that wasn’t yet known, loved dreaming about what wasn’t there yet.  I almost feel like this has always been a part of me…and what started as my makeup has turned into my ministry.  Ambition.  I love to dream about what could be and then set off to make it happen.  My spirit loves to drift into dreams throughout the day wondering what else could happen that currently isn’t.  I want to be more ambitious than I am, but I feel that in order to be ambitious, you have to be freed to lead.  You can’t be ambitious tethered to another vision or philosophy.  You have to be unleashed to move into your white hot passion. 

It has always been my ambition…what has?  Making sure people see the gospel closely and clearly for one.  I love to unveil to people the mysteries of God and his grand story filled with pleasure and fraught with danger.  I love to share with people what God looks like from His Word and what he feels and thinks and wants and does.  The gospel (good news) has been turned into old news.  And no news is not good news, right?  I love to lift the spell that has left a good many bored with God and his “so called” good news.   I take the gospel very personally.  I find myself scared at times to speak out for God on certain subjects knowing that my homily could make or break people’s thoughts on God.  There isn’t a time I step in front of people that I don’t shutter at the thought of making God look bad.  As A.W. Tozer says, “There is nothing more important than what comes to people’s minds when they think about God.”  That is the gospel, what comes to people’s mind when they stop long enough to consider the option of God.  I want to ambitiously share the true gospel with people that frees indeed.

Taking this message to “where it is not known” lights my logs.  I find myself stirred at the thought of heralding this good news in a region where it is presently unheard of.  I love being the conduit of disclosure.  It has always brought me great pleasure to be the first to go somewhere or do something.

The promulgation of the gospel depends on this apostolic instinct.