an ANOMALY for HIS GLORY

I’ll be completely honest as I share my initial thoughts during the recent leadership conference I attended. As Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley were up on stage talking about their paths of getting to where God has them currently, I could not help but think about my path, which—not for lack of a better word, but for the only word that fits—has me categorized as an anomaly. The definition of anomaly:   A deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form.  Synonyms: abnormality, exception, peculiarity.Hmmm, yep, that about explains my life and the reason I can’t compare my resume with what a common church leader’s experience looks like.   There were about 2500 people in this auditorium and had they done a survey, “by a show of hands”, about how each person got there, I highly doubt anyone would have joined me when my hand was up.It would go something like this:  “By a show of hands, how many people went to seminary?” Hundred of hands would be raised. “By a show of hands, how many people here are the lead pastor, a ministry leader or even a business owner?” Again hundreds of hands would be raised and because of my current role, I would join this party in raising my hand.But imagine if the next question went something like this, “By a show of hands, how many people are former professional athletes?” I’m not sure how many people out of 2500 would fit this category. And then imagine if the next question was, “By a show of hands,  how many of you are former felons and prepared for your ministry in prison?”  I can just imagine all the rubber necking that would happen as people anxiously scan the audience to see if anyone had their hand raised.  And of course I would be raising it confidently. You see, I don’t highlight this abnormality for any other reason except for the blatant truth that God can raise anyone up from any circumstance and use their mess and misery to be the main message of their ministry. I’m not sure if  anyone will even understand the anomaly that I am trying to explain, but my hope is that  we all  realize that God can take our pasts, no matter what they look like—pro or con—and make them show Christ. For me, it’s pro to con to Christ, and the very reason why I am grateful for where I currently am in life.