When I used to be involved in Gospel magic, I remember a highly acclaimed magician getting up at one of our national conferences and explaining that what he does is not who he is.
At first I didn’t quite understand what he meant. You’re a magician, that’s who you are! Are you telling us you are resigning as a magician?!
I respected this man greatly, his performances were esteemed and envied by all the other gospel magicians in our Association. To be honest, I never would have known this man if it hadn’t been for his magic. However, that evening I could tell this illusionist wanted us to see the real person he was on the inside. No smoke and mirror, he wanted to be known as the man of God he was striving to be.
Now many years later as I look over my professional life and ministry life, I can identify with this man’s feelings. I am a pastor… but I’m also a dad, husband, son, brother, and man of God, all before I am a pastor. What I do is not necessarily who I; this is especially true for any of us when it deals with the preconceived notions that come with our job title (of which “Pastor” has many).
I am the main culprit here: I often will start with my profession, responsibilities, or even accomplishments to bolster up my identity rather than recognizing the unique wiring that God has given me. This weekend, I decided to sit down and do some in-depth soul questioning, with the Lord’s help, to answer again, “Who am I?” I set out to answer this for the sake of knowing what I am to do, and specifically what I am to write about (as writing is one of the main things that I do).
In order to clarify the vision for what I would write both here and in future book projects, I decided to take an in-depth look at what God is clearly forming in me. At first my list was rather long, it was full of things I wanted to be, or things I thought I was, or things others told me I should be. It wasn’t until I really started to pray and ask God – How do you see me, now and in the future? – that I was able to identified God’s perspective of me.
The things listed here on the left side of this diagram are the very things I believe God has called me to be, and therefore I must do them well. Yes, even things like being a son and a brother, are intentional rolls that God has placed me in that I must continually invest in and be intentional to fulfill.
After I clearly identify who it is that I am, then I can figure out what it is that I will do. Or in the case of my role as a writer – what it is that I will write towards. By identifying WHO I am: A husband, dad, a preacher (because this is a calling not a job), a shepherd to people, etc., then I can identify what it is that I will do.
The examination process to find what you are versus what you will do is not always easy. The hardest part is differentiating what you do because it is part of you’re life or job, and who you are because God gave you passions and aptitudes that are unique only to you. But if you will sit still long enough and ask God to show you these things, the differences and uniquenesses will become apparent.
Michael Hyatt has a great resource for creating a life plan that may be useful to you, if you’d like to take this to the next step.
I’ve also endorsed a product called “The Call” that will measure your passions, spiritual gifts, and aptitudes that would be worth checking out if you know it is time for some “heavy lifting and hard work” in this area of your life.
