Opportunity Revealed

Myra said, “I have been praying for more elders to be part of the leadership of our church, and I have been praying for you. What do you think about this, Chip?”

I did not know, but certainly I would pray about it. After much prayer, discussions with Beth and our daughters, a phone call to my former pastor, and more discussions with a group of three great friends I meet with weekly, I decided to start the elder training class. This is a formal process in our church and I took it seriously. But, I felt uneasy about it and felt bad about having that feeling.

That Unpeaceful, Uneasy Feeling

In the background, Beth and I had been praying for opportunities to minister to college students in our church and to students at my university in general. Was this my conflict? I did not know, I just knew I felt ill-at-ease about becoming an elder.

Midway through the elder training class, during one of the weekly meetings with my buddies, I again shared with them how I felt uneasy about becoming an elder. I expected them to advise me to continue the training to see where God would take it. Instead, what they said encouraged and challenged me.

They said, “God has placed you at Cal Poly to bring Jesus to the university. What if God is calling you to focus your ministry there?”

Church Support for the Decision

After letting my pastor know that I wanted to focus my energy and time on whatever and however God would lead me at Cal Poly, I knew that Beth and I needed to do something, but what?

The Sunday after letting Myra know of my decision not to become an elder, Allen and Rosalie approached me after the service. These church friends said, “We want to let you know that we really support you in this decision. If you want to use our house (they live very close to Cal Poly and we do not) for anything, it is yours to use as you want.”

Not only was their message super encouraging, it was also unexpected. My people-pleaser tendencies half-assumed our church would be disappointed in me. But, here was the wide-open door Beth and I had been praying for and dreaming about. It was very clear that we needed to run through it.

God Is in the Details

In the following weeks, “Pizza and Jesus” was born and started. This has become a weekly dinner and discussion group that is open to anyone on campus who wants to talk about Jesus. 

I have reflected on this process many times and have come to appreciate now more than ever that God is in the details of our lives and uses our decisions, our processes, and our relationships to patiently guide us in the way we should go. Had I not started to become an elder only to turn the opportunity down halfway through the process, would “Pizza and Jesus” have started? Only God knows.