“Don’t pray for opportunities equal to your abilities. Pray instead for abilities equal to your opportunities.”
Many of you know that I have been “released” by my Board of Directors for an interim of time to be the acting CEO/President of an organization called Open Doors-USA.
Please go on-line to: www.OpenDoorsUSA.org to check us out. Our focus is The Persecuted Church. We are not a ministry that specializes in relief, rescue, or religious freedom. We support those efforts, but our effort is to strengthen and encourage what remains of the church in hard and hostile places. We know how to find those who live under persecution and we know what they need and we know how to help them stay in order to thrive and not just survive. We are located in Santa Ana, California. I have been here since September 3rd. So what has my time here produced? It is too early to tell, but I will let some of those here weigh in on this question.
The young adults here are the visionaries and the dreamers. They give life. Here’s what one said:
“Hi Steve. I wanted to just say “Thank You” for lunch yesterday. Not enough words can explain how awesome it was… Also, thank you for sharing your heart at the staff meeting. It meant a lot to me and I know to a lot of other people too! I needed to hear that and rekindle the passion that I had for this ministry when I first came 6 years ago. I’m looking forward to this new chapter at Open Doors and to see where God is going to lead this ministry!”
My Executive Assistant (she keeps my feet grounded and makes my life and work amazingly seamless) said this:
“…And I also wanted to say that since you have come, and shared the Core Values with the staff, that I have noticed a difference around here. People are kinder and more thoughtful towards one another. There also seems to be a renewed passion for what we do. You have brought wise and godly leadership and a true servant’s heart, all of which I greatly appreciate. For such a time as this, the Lord has brought you to us. And for that, we are all most grateful.”
“We are an uncommon people created for an uncommon calling from Christ. We are an uncommon people called to serve Christ…”
The staff in general?
“As we walked in to the conference room, with all the chairs in a big circle, each chair had a brightly colored bag on it, with items inside. Each bag had an ODUSA employee’s name on the bag. We weren’t to look inside the bag. “I am the Interim CEO” (yes, stressing INTERIM), and he briefly went over how many things fell into place suddenly that brought him here. He then said, “We are an uncommon people created for an uncommon calling from Christ. We are an uncommon people called to serve Christ, and to heed the cries of the persecuted through Open Doors. We must not forget why we are called, what our core values are, and that our #1 mission is Jesus.”
So what was the bag for? It is primarily a bag of “TOOLS.”
“Tools so that we will remember who we are and why we are called.” You could hear a pin drop in the room.
Remember who we are, why we are here, and love and care for each other, both in the office and out. I was awestruck as I looked at my tools as the thought immediately came to me, “Have I truly died to Christ?…Have I died to self, today, for Christ?” Speechless. What a marvelous gift. And how marvelous for God to bring us Steve Ridgway for such a time as this. Keep him in prayer.”
How long will this interim position last? I am not sure and for that reason it is a leap of faith. I believe that God will have me here for a time and bring me home to continue the work of discipleship that he has called me to. Your support in prayer and finance means more than words can express. In many ways, being here is a seamless transition because it is, for the most part, what I have always done.
