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Let us talk strategy shall we? I will be the first to admit I am not the most practical person in the world. I am a dreamer and I like dreaming big with God. My downfall however, is that my dreams will always stay dreams if there is no action plan to move that dream into reality. That is where strategy comes in.
As a campus minister or leader you might have a lot of ideas. You might have all the passion, all the heart, all the desire, all the knowledge, even all the skill necessary to build something awesome for God on your campus. Maybe it isn’t even you, maybe you recognize greatness and skill inside some of your students. They have so much potential but nothing is happening. All skill but no strategy make us about as bright as a bunch of rocks. What good is that speaking gift, or musical ability, or baking genius if it isn’t being cultivated and implemented? Rocks, just a bunch of rocks sitting around.
In 1 Chronicles 12:32 David is gathering his mighty men of valor. In this particular verse he makes special note of the sons of Issachar. Out of his 336,000 highly skilled and trained men, he calls out 200. These men had “understanding of the times” and “knew what Israel ought to do.” The sons of Issachar brought strategy to the table. They knew exactly what to do.
We live in a time in history saturated with voices, blogs, opinions, and books about everything and anything. There are so many sources telling us what to do and what is best. As ministers and leaders we need to go to the only source that is worth listening to. The best strategy has always been and will always be, going to God. I know, SHOCKER! But listen close. The presence of God will always trump any skill, knowledge, formula, or equation we could come up with ourselves. We have to be humble enough to ask for his plan and then work it, no matter how crazy it seems.
Gideon knew this better than anyone. He gathered his men to fight the Midianites and after a chat with God, discovered that he had too many. In the natural, there is no such thing as “too many” men when you are about to go to battle (am I right?). But God’s ways are higher than ours. After everything was said and done, Gideon was left with only 300 men. Those men left that battle victorious and God was glorified because Gideon had been obedient to His strategy.
I don’t know about you, but I refuse to be a rock. I refuse to sit around with all the potential and all the knowledge and all the skill to turn my campus upside down, but no divine strategy to do so. Without the supernatural we are just another place students can hang out and maybe get help. That falls so short of God’s plan for you and your campus. As you are thinking and planning for next year, I pray that you are intentional about asking for the supernatural strategy of God, the wisdom to discern it, and then the courage to implement it, no matter how crazy it seems!
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