Charles Lee

I started serving in church leadership when I was 18. Young? Most definitely.

There was a need for a youth director at the church I was at so I said I would help. Skills? Very little. All I had going for me was a naive willingness to help. Still don’t know what the leadership was thinking in putting me in charge of the youth ministry. I was barely older than the kids.

Well, I’m turning 38 next month and I have spent all but a few months of the past 20 years serving in ministry.

No, I never had a dramatic “call” to ministry. I don’t recall any special divine epiphanies. I saw a need and volunteered to help. If it wasn’t the church, I’d probably would have volunteered elsewhere. This sounds anti-climatic, doesn’t it?

I never saw myself becoming a pastor. Quite honestly, I don’t think I pastor well in the traditional sense of the word. The models of pastoring I saw while growing up was never appealing to me, especially in light of my personality. I simply wanted to (and still do) serve people with whatever skill-set God has allowed me to develop.

All I really know is that my heart’s been captured by the amazing life and mission of Jesus to embrace the world with his love. I have no desire to build or rebuild an institution. I no longer have much desire to make it “big” in ministry. In hindsight, that was a pretty meaningless pursuit. Prominence in ministry often gives a false sense of impact and perpetuates the delusion of self-importance.

Oh yeah…the sabbatical.

The leadership at New Hope has graciously allowed me to go on sabbatical for 6 weeks (starting in a couple of weeks) to reconnect with God, my passions & dreams, and find time to rest and write (i.e., a practice that fuels my soul). Although this won’t be a complete sabbatical since I will continue to work on my company, I have set aside 2-3 days each week (depending on the week) to renew my soul. My hope is that God would allow my wife and me to reflect on where he’s brought our family and how he would like to direct our future. We’ve committed to being an open canvas to him during this sabbatical. We just think it’s the right time to do this and we expect God to do some great things in us and through us.

I share this to ask for your prayers. I appreciate your friendship and how you’ve helped me to become a better human being.

This post is tagged Charles Lee, Future, Hope, Refocus, Renewal, sabbatical