Pioneers and Settlers

There was something spoken at church last night about being either pioneers or settlers. I am part of a church community filled with pioneers - people who love the unknown, who love to go to new places and try new things. And it's great.

I am not a pioneer. And I have wrestled with that over the last year or so. I am a settler, called to ministry within the body of Christ in its local setting. I am called to the church - to the broken and wounded and hurting within the walls of the church community. Yes, I have a heart for those outside the walls of the church, but my passion ignites for those who have entered in, and are looking to be met - to be human, to be healed.

Nothing excites me more than a situation like last night. A young woman with whom I have walked life on an intensely close level got up and spoke out her story. She spoke truth, and healing, and I felt breakthrough. Nothing makes me want to celebrate like watching this young woman succeed, like watching her life knit itself together into something beautiful, like watching her find beauty in the ash heap that had defined her life.

I'm thrilled to be part of a community of pioneers. I think they're doing amazing things, and I hope I get to go along for the ride occasionally. But I'm not about pioneering. I'm about building from within so that those with a pioneering spirit can be sent out in strength and healing.