Leadership

I have been in the recovery ministry since 2012.  I was asked to maintain the social media for the recovery ministry of the church where I was a member.  At first I wasn't sure because I wasn't one of those people.  I have never struggled with drugs or alcohol issues.  I agreed in order to help out.  I would sit in the back of the room and listen to the message each week.  Then I would make a post the next day to spark conversation between those who had attended and those who did not attend.  As I kept attending the meetings each week, I realized I was more like those people than I was different from them.  I assumed it would be people talking about drugs and alcohol issues and I would not be able to relate to their stories.  Man... was I wrong!  I learned that drugs and alcohol was their chemical bandage being used to numb the pain of the wound they struggled with each day.  You can remove the chemical bandage but you will never be fully healed unless you treat the wound you are attempting to numb.  Without treating the wound, you get locked into a vicious cycle of finding numbing agents to help you cope with the pain without realizing the numbing agent is slowing robbing you of the abundant life that God created you to enjoy.  Those people in those meetings were telling bits and pieces of my story!  Soon, I found myself looking forward to attending those meetings with those people.  

An opportunity opened to take the recovery ministry into the local jail.  I volunteered to be part of the team.  It would be in that season of ministry where God placed the calling on my heart to dive into ministry full time even though I did not answer that calling right away.  It would take a little bit of pushing me out of my comfort zone but if you have ever answered God's calling on your life then you know what that pushing you out of your comfort zone feels like and you understand.  I am thankful for those people at those meetings who taught me so much about myself that I never expected to learn nor was I seeking to learn.  When we answer God's calling on our lives, he reveals and enhances our spiritual gifts.  I tell everyone that I was the person who sat on the back row on the end seat so that I could leave as soon as the church service was over.  Now, God has revealed and enhanced my spiritual gifts.  I believe my spiritual gifts include discernment, writing through listening to the words of the Holy Spirit, and I can have a whole conversation with a tree as long as it does not walk off.  

And that, my friends, was the birth of Shan, the Recovery Pastor!  Always remember to speak life, be a blessing, put your faith feet into action and cause a spiritual ripple effect around you.  If you do not like what is happening around you and you want to see change, change starts with you.  What consumes the heart will be seen through our actions and spread with our words. Much Agape ev'body!