Joel M Bradshaw

20Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom in the future.–Proverbs 19

Many years ago, I was in the early days of youth ministry. An intern in Racine, Wisconsin. The youth group and I had planned a fun event that we hoped would become a repeatable thing they could invite their friends to. Everybody was excited.

The big night happened. No guests showed up. I was heartbroken. I felt both dejected and rejected as a leader. The teens were disappointed, but still willing to hold the ministry event. I, however, was not. In a moment that still makes me shake my head, I told everyone to just go home. I thanked them all for their hard work, but they could see the disappointed look on my face. They knew how I was feeling. In a moment of frustration, I made that decision to cancel.

I’ll never forget the senior pastor, Jerry, and what he said to me the next day. “You should have still had the event. Even with the teens that showed up.” I knew he was right, and I apologized. He told me to learn from this moment.

Years later, I was the pastor of a small church in Prospect Heights, Illinois. Again, I was faced with a situation where numbers weren’t encouraging. My friend and church elder Terry, saw I was disappointed and told me a story about a young preacher and a farmer. The preacher was disappointed in attendence and the farmer said, “Preacher, I may just be an old farmer, but I when I wake up every morning, I go to the barn, and feed whatever cows show up to the trough.”

Terry’s words immediately took me back to Jerry’s words. Was I going to react immaturely like before? No. I began to see opportunities to love people one story at a time. To care for them in whatever way I could. To use my own story for God’s glory and to encourage the flock. I stayed the course. I didn’t give up. I trusted God.

I wish I could go back and do that youth event over and celebrate those teens and their hard work. But, all I could do was learn from my past and continue to feed whoever God has brought to be fed.

Take heed of the wise advice given to you and pay attention for opportunities to put it into practice.—JMB