Warts and All
Thursday, November 9, 2023
“Failure is better than living too safe.” – Os Hillman
When I decided to leave The Saints Prison Ministry after 24 years as founder and executive director so I could do more speaking and writing, Job #1 (as Ford Motor Company used to say) was to come up with a name for my new ministry. Since my second book was titled Difference Makers, that was my first choice but alas, somebody had already beaten me to it. And so, after some brainstorming with others and soul searching with myself, I settled on Risk Takers for Christ. After all, I reasoned, how can you be a “difference maker” if you are not a “risk taker” first?
Twelve years later, I think I made the right call… or actually, God did when He led me to make that decision.
If making an eternal difference for God requires some sort of spiritual risk taking, why do so few people follow that course of action? I think there are two reasons. First, I think most people – sadly, Christians included – prefer to live quiet, unobstructive, and comfortable lives… and speaking from personal experience, there is nothing comfortable about taking risks. Likewise, I am convinced that making an eternal difference and having a spiritual impact is a relatively foreign concept to most people, believers and unbelievers alike. It simply isn’t on their radar screen.
On the contrary, they value family, career, and accommodations (their house, their car, their vacations) above making a spiritual contribution to the Body of Christ or to building God’s kingdom here on earth. They may pray “Thy kingdom come” but, in reality, they aren’t willing to lift a finger to make it happen.
And so, the battle is left to the “bulls in a china shop” like me and some other nonconformists that I know. We bumble and stumble our way through life, making more personal and ministry mistakes than you’d have thought possible, but with a heart that chases hard after God. Thankfully, He knows our weaknesses, sees our good intentions, and repairs the unintended damage we sometimes cause.
In other words, risk taking is messy and making a difference is an inexact science. However, they are my life’s true calling, and I wouldn’t have it any other way... warts and all.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him…” Hebrews 11:6 (NJKV)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
