“Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” – Henry David Thoreau.

This weekend, I spent over three hours walking and looking for the antlers that deer shed in the spring. I didn’t find any, but I am okay with that. I really don’t need any more antlers at the moment, even though I still get a thrill every time I find one.

No, the reason I go walking is because I am an introvert. For me, that means that people exhaust me. I am not energized by spending time with others; instead, I feel empty and tired. One of the best ways for me to enliven my soul is to spend time alone outside.

My time outside was spent looking at nature, listening to the birds, catching a sermon online from one of my favorite preachers, and enjoying some soothing music. The time alone filled up my spirit, allowed me to think, and connected me with God through quiet prayers.

I spend a great deal of time walking and looking for antlers this time of year. People always ask me how many I find, and I smile and tell them the numbers. The truth is, I am not really after antlers.

Faith cannot be reduced to one simple line. The questions we face as believers often require complex, multifaceted responses.

Recently, a man visited my office seeking guidance about a tragedy near our Church. As I began explaining biblical teachings, I noticed his attention waning. I switched to using an analogy, but his interest continued to fade. I then returned to presenting the scriptural perspective on suffering.

When I finished, he responded with several religious one-liners about God and suffering. It became clear he was hunting for a simple, quotable response, something concise he could offer when people discussed the tragedy.

These faith slogans may be catchy and memorable, but they typically lack biblical integrity and theological depth. There are no easy answers, especially for life-shattering situations. Simple answers are like placing a bandage on a cancer patient – they might look reassuring, but they offer no real help during the actual struggle.

How many times do I need to repeat myself before the concept sticks?

This is a question I wrestle with as a Church leader. I often find myself repeating the same information over and over. Sometimes, it is the basics of the faith. Other times, it is the mission of the Church. Frequently, it is about upcoming events.

Recently, I heard a Church leader say, “Repeat yourself until you are tired of saying it, and that is when most people are just starting to catch on.”

I know there is truth to his statement because of the nature of people. Sometimes, when I say something while people are absent, other times, they are distracted. Occasionally, people hear it, but they immediately forget it for a number of reasons. Quite often, they only hear part of what I say and miss significant parts of my comments.

So, if you think you have heard me say something a thousand times, then great, my words are not for you. Instead, I am telling them to that person who didn’t hear them last time. Don’t think that I am forgetful or going senile. I am merely trying to get everyone to understand, and sometimes, it takes repeating myself a thousand times for it to stick.

No pastor knows everything. They do not have all the skills required to lead a Church. Understanding the Bible and grasping theological concepts is challenging enough; they also need insights into leadership, building maintenance, volunteer coordination, recruiting, fundraising, discipleship, outreach, event planning, organizational skills, and about a hundred other things. Every pastor is highly skilled in some areas but lacking in others.

The good news is that God gave us a Church community. No pastor, staff member, elder, deacon, ministry team leader, or volunteer is required to be good at everything. That is why we have each other. You make up for your pastor’s shortcomings, and they compensate for yours too.

The Church is the body of Christ on earth, and every part of it is vital. You may not feel like you contribute much, but as a Pastor, I want you to know that I need YOU to complete the work of Jesus on earth. We are all in this together.

I lead a small group of men on Monday and Thursday nights. It is one of my favorite things to do right now. Over 20 men show up and participate each week as they attempt to grow in their faith.

Every time I facilitate a new group, God has a way of teaching me as I lead them. So far, with this group, he has reminded me that many Christians know the right thing to say, even when they are not doing it. The answers to many of my questions are the same; “We need to pray about it. We should be reading our Bibles. We all should have people to which we are accountable.”

These sentences are all true, but they have no practical connection to life. For example, when someone answers a question by declaring that we need to pray, I always respond in the affirmative. But I never like to let it stop there. I follow that statement by asking, “When do you pray?” Possibly, I inquire as to the nature of their prayers. “What exactly do you say to God when you pray about these things?” Another approach might be to ask, “And what do you hope to see as a result of your prayers?”

I have noticed that whenever I ask more questions, they stop in their tracks. They are used to simply giving an answer that sounds spiritual and then moving on to something else. As a Christian, it is easy to use the language of faith to deflect genuine reflection and participation.

Always remember, it is one thing to talk a good game, and it is quite another to play one. Just because someone knows all the correct answers, including you, does not mean you are growing spiritually. In fact, it might be a smokescreen to hide a lack of spiritual growth.

Why do I keep running into this person?

Have you ever thought that about someone? You see them at a school function. You run into them at Walmart. You might even notice them at a traffic light.

Perhaps they have always been there, but for whatever reason, you have noticed their presence in your life repeatedly. Sometimes, their name will pop up in conversations. Their social media appears on your feed every time you look.

What if these experiences were not random coincidences but rather small acts of providence to connect you to someone else? What if God, in his sovereignty, is using you to reach them with the message of his grace? What if you are the perfect person to minister to this person in the name of Jesus? What if you saw them as part of God’s plan for your life?

I believe God continually allows our lives to intersect with people to help us fulfill his purpose in the world. And maybe that person you are noticing is God trying to use you for his glory.

There is a Church that requires everyone who attends their gatherings to get involved in discipleship. They get a mentor, some required reading, and attend a weekly small group meeting. The leadership there makes it known that if you plan on joining their Church, you will participate in the discipleship program of their Church, or you will be asked not to return.

As you first hear this, I don’t know how you will react. I thought that this was a bit extreme, but I genuinely admire their determination to fulfill the Great Commission of making disciples. Then, I thought long and intensely about how I could enforce something like this in the community of Christians I lead. After all, when I look at their Church, the people seem so committed to the Lord. Perhaps forced discipleship is the way to go.

Then I realized something. The people who attend their Church long for that type of atmosphere. People have already vetted them before they choose to participate. In other words, the people who join their community come in with a Christian background and long for someone to help them grow in their faith.

Here is the harsh reality for all believers. If you want to become a spiritually mature follower of Jesus, the desire must come from inside of you. No one can “force” you to become a mature Christian. It takes you waking up each and every day and choosing to take up your cross and follow him. The reason that this Church is growing is because the people who attend already want someone to invest in them spiritually, and those who don’t quit or go somewhere else.

I wish I could implement some plan that takes total non-Christians, leads them to faith, and then grows them into mature believers without any flaws or failures. But Jesus told us the parable of the Sower in which a man goes out scattering seed on four types of soil, and only one of them becomes complete and produces fruit. Three out of the four soils do not do what the Sower wanted them to do. Be clear: in this parable, Jesus is the Sower.

No one can force you into discipleship that leads to spiritual maturity, no matter how hard they try. Transformation starts inside your soul.

What would happen if you did not read another book this week about faith and instead tried to apply yourself to doing one thing from a previous book you read?

Quite often, we keep stuffing more into our hearts and minds without doing what we already know to do.

There is a surprisingly good chance that you don’t need to know more, but rather, you need to do more of what you know.

I was in a discussion with some Church leaders, and they were talking about the faith required to lead a Church. I was young and arrogant, and I know that now, but I responded by saying something like this: “God would not have to show up here for weeks, and we would be fine.”

As you can imagine, their jaws dropped. They questioned me, “What do you mean?”

My response was equally direct. “Well, we have over $50,000 in the bank. And we are not planning anything that requires us to stretch ourselves spiritually in any way in the near future.”

Please hear me; I was not being critical. It was simply an honest evaluation from my experience in that Church and numerous others like it. They had money, they were comfortable, and they felt security aside from their faith.

I firmly believe that a Church should ask itself, “What are we doing that would fail if God did not show up this week?”

What projects? What outreach? What worship? What teaching? What mission expansion? What?

The Church community should be a place that leads the way in trusting God as we live by faith and not by sight.

Recently, I was in a discussion with my current group of Church leaders, and I asked them if we should still give away 50% of our offering on Easter to the children’s home like we usually do. Funds are tight, and we have few reserves in the bank at this moment. One of the leaders quickly piped up, “If we believe God is in this, then we need to do it.” Soon, everyone around the table added their vote of agreement. And so, we are going to trust God to provide all we need to do his work in both our Church and the places where we support others.

It is a scary thing to lead by faith, but as a Christian leader, it is the only place I want to be.

My new tool was not working properly. I tried several things to get it working, but it was to no avail.

I went and picked up the owner’s manual, and there was an entire section labeled “Troubleshooting.”

The section will list a problem and then a solution. Some issues may have multiple solutions. These pages offer the owner practical instructions on how to handle the difficulties they might encounter.

Sadly, the Bible does not offer a troubleshooting section. If something in your life is not working the way it should, then look up page 181 and find three things you can do to fix it. There are no “easy steps” to overcome whatever you are facing.

Yet, I encounter Christians regularly who come to me, tell me about a struggle they are facing, and then ask me to troubleshoot it. They are always disappointed when I tell them that the scriptures are not that straightforward. Some stories and passages help us gain an understanding of what God wants us to do in a general way, but there is little practical advice on how that might work out in your life.

My typical response to people is to have them read some section of the Bible, start praying for a solution, seek wise counsel, develop a plan that fits their personality, and pray some more before they act. The way to fix their issues is very rarely a simple answer; instead, it takes time to think, reflect, and draw close to God. And even then, it requires an element of faith as they move forward.

Unfortunately, the Bible has no troubleshooting section. Instead, it encourages us to spend a lifetime taking our troubles to God, seeking his will, and trusting that he will work even when we don’t see it.