Success.
People define success in a lot of different ways. And in ministry, how we define success ultimately drives what we do. For me, today, I saw success. It was sweet. Real sweet. I’ve waited almost two years to see it, but it was well worth it.
I met with a college age guy today who I have grown to love. Two years ago he was, well, sort of a wreck. He had very little, if any, discipline. He didn’t work, played all the time and was doing little more than floating through life. No direction, very little godly passion.
Today was different.
I’ve seen a young man grow up. He has taken steps over the last two years that I have seen. And recently, it seems like leaps. This guy is connected to our church, to older believers that he’s grown to love and trust. They, along with me, have walked alongside him slowly and lovingly speaking truth into his life. And God has used it. Today his spiritual growth and godly thought processes are now encouraging those around him. His growth is evident and nobody questions it.
I write this blog as an encouragement to you. Two years ago nobody would’ve guessed that this guy would be leading by example the way he is. The coolest thing is he doesn’t even realize it…he’s just growing one day at a time, one step. Success.
So, you know that person you’re meeting with that doesn’t seem to get it and you might even be questioning whether or not it’s worth your time? Yeah. Hold on. Pay the price of time. People like them are often the biggest blessings in ministry. Continue to pray, be patient and faithful. You might be surprised what happens two years from now…

Anyway, I wanted to give an update on a couple things. First, speaking at George Fox’s Fall Retreat. I know this picture is a bit blurry, but these are the people I got to know a little over this weekend. It is a mix of GF staff and students who were leading this trip. The theme of the weekend was, “Walk with Me” and it had two perspectives. One was asking other people to walk with me in everyday life – through the ups and downs. They had some couches and chairs set up during different parts of the day so people can walk up and talk to someone. The students that sat there waiting for someone simply had the job of listening. It was a cool concept and seemed to work. The second perspective to the theme was that God was asking us to walk with Him. This is the part I concentrated mostly on. It was a fun time and I hope to be more involved with George Fox over the years.
Secondly, last week I went to a Portland Blazer game…and had these seats. Amazing. I know you can’t tell, but that’s Greg Oden and the Blazer’s bench on the left. We were close. Pretty fun time of hanging out and hearing them talk on the bench about the game. Unfortunately they played horrible. But the seats were great and worth going.