“What values are our prayers rooted in? The Kingdom or ourselves?”
Ryan Beardsley
Some time ago I was struck by the question and the wisdom of this quote, stated by my good friend, Ryan Beardsley. I recently had the opportunity to put this into practice.
Last September I was released by my Board of Directors with The Northwest Network Foundation to serve as the interim CEO and President of Open Doors USA. Open Doors is a ministry to the 100 million Christ followers who live in the most hostile places around the world ( www.OpenDoorsUSA.org ). Our mission is to ‘strengthen and encourage what remains’ of the church in order to remain and be the church. So for 10 months Open Doors would serve as my “major donor” and I would serve them in fulfilling their mission.
During this time, I grew to believe I could do this work as the CEO. I was encouraged by many to apply and so I did. However, during that time there were several people who did not want me to be in this role. Because of the way in which they communicated this it caused me to step back and evaluate my moving forward. I sat down one day and said, “Lord, this is too important and I don’t want to get this wrong. What do You really want? Please tell me in a way I have not experienced before.” Several weeks later in late January I was in my bedroom and a very strong impression (I didn’t hear a voice) pierced my mind: “Take your name out of the candidacy!” It was so strong that I turned my head and said, “What?” There was no one there. But I said, “Okay.” From that moment on I have had a confident peace that I needed to head back home to Puyallup, Washington and resume what I believe is and has been, the call on my life.
In mid June I will be resuming my role as The Executive Director of the Northwest Network Foundation. I will continue discipling men, connecting lives for Kingdom purposes, and traveling to The Middle East. Your financial and prayer support has been greatly appreciated and will continue to be as we move forward. My mailing address will be the same as The Northwest Network Foundation:
PO Box 158
Puyallup, WA 98371
253-435-1344 mobile
riva51@comcast.net
