Article : Opportunities for Action

by Dave Wardell, Ph.D. with Jeffrey A. Leever 

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action…."
1 Peter 1:13

Think your male life is routine and non-exciting?

Think again.

Your days are numbered, for sure.  But Someone important holds those numbers.

Becoming a man after God’s heart is a process, no doubt.  In this process of becoming an every-day disciple, I believe small events—I call them opportunities for action—can be identified along the way. As they are recognized and acted upon, these small events (things that seem to “pop up" in the Christian life) can help men grow from immaturity to maturity in Christ.

As human beings created in the image of God, designed to become more like His Son, if we pay attention to the opportunities that come our way, the experiences can be priceless. To give you an idea of what I mean, allow me to share a few examples from my own life.

My Growth as a Disciple

Something happened back in 1963 that helped ignite a hunger in me. Were it not for this action step, the course of my life could have proceeded quite differently.

When I was working as a high school coach, I met a man named Don Reeverts. This tall, sharp-looking guy was talking about something called “Young Life." So I asked him, “What’s that?"

He said, “Come and see."

I went to Cherry Creek High School (in Littleton, Colorado) to take in the Young Life experience for myself. It was amazing. More than 250 young people came once a week to hear the gospel, socialize, and be semi-rowdy. Who says kids can’t have fun? I thought. These young people definitely had fun!

I became convinced that I should begin my own group like this in the high school where I was working. Don encouraged me and helped get me started. I found an older couple that had a huge basement they allowed us to use as a meeting place. Eventually, my group grew to 100 kids at every meeting.

I experienced great joy as I watched the boys and girls become men and women spiritually. Something about me—the essence of my life’s vision—was planted in my heart back then. I began to understand the importance of investing my life in others. Don had planted a seed that would later grow and develop.

A few years later, in 1966, I finally became convicted to go back to church regularly. I was now living in Aurora, Colorado, teaching physical education at Hinckley High School in Aurora. My wife and I had decided we might want to start looking for a church. Carolyn had grown up in a Christian home, whereas I had accepted Christ in 1959.

We finally began to attend Galilee Baptist Church. The Christ-centered preaching I heard there began to convict my heart even more. One night, Galilee’s pastor came to our home and we told him we wanted to join the church as members. He looked at me and said something startling: “I don’t want you to join the church."

You can probably imagine my surprise.

Then, he added, “Do you know Jesus?"

I was stunned. In that instant, I realized the truth about how I’d been living. All along, I had been living for my self, rather than for God.

Not long after this, the church held its Easter service. During this service, I made a deeper commitment to God. I went forward during an altar call and was baptized. Immediately afterward, a couple came forward to be assigned to Carolyn and myself. Mr. and Mrs. Jay Oertli became our big brother and big sister.

As my life unfolded further, Jay challenged me to join a Bible study and be discipled. At that point, I recall I gave him my own version of the standard masculine brush-off: “I’m too busy." I claimed to be too immersed in coaching gymnastics and tennis.

Jay never wavered. He and his wife persisted and brought the study into my home. As we began to meet, this sparked the greatest period of Christian growth in my life. The Oertlis were involved in the Navigators ministry, and we went through a two-year, topical discipleship program. Every week that young couple poured their lives into Carolyn and me. Looking back, I realize this was God’s way of giving me a wake-up call to committed spiritual growth.

As Christians, we can never assume we will grow simply through osmosis, with no effort on our part. My experiences with Don and Jay led to an even deeper commitment to the disciple’s life a few short years later when I met Dan Stavely in 1972 in Boulder.

Dan had been a football coach under Eddie Crowder at the University of Colorado. Everyone called him the “Old Coach." When I walked into Old Coach’s office for the first time the first thing he said to me was very succinct. He took one look at me and said, “Sit down, shorty." I obliged.

Then he asked me if I was in any kind of Christian fellowship.

“No, sir."

The Old Coach suggested I begin to attend Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) meetings every week on Mondays at 7 a.m., plus another hour a week with him personally. I took him up on it.

Dan worked with me—and through the process, God worked in my life. The Old Coach used to say to me, “The reason we do discipleship is so you can be a blood-bought, born-again, Satan-hatin’, Bible-packin’, knee-bendin’, Spirit-filled, deep-water-baptized Christian." Truly, the old coach understood the importance of building Christ-likeness into the younger generation—perhaps better than anyone I have ever met. When I left CU, I joined the ministry of FCA as a result of his influence.

Five Keys for Action

My experience suggests that there are five keys to the action process of being a daily disciple. These are points to keep in mind as we disciple others and allow ourselves to be discipled.

1. Pursuit (Don, Jay, and Dan all knew they needed to keep pursuing me; I had the sense to not close myself off from their efforts.)
2. Commitment (Without the commitment of others,   and finally my own, I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.)
3. Openness (Being receptive to the Holy Spirit’s teachiing was crucial in my life.)
4. Perseverance (I didn’t always get the message instantly,
   but Don, Jay, and Dan were patient and persistent with me.)
5. Lack of selfishness (When we put ourselves first, we hurt
   Christ’s body here on earth. The manner in which we influence others down the road can be dependent upon simply making one right choice at a certain time—a choice made not just for the sake of ourselves, but for how we will ultimately serve the Kingdom.)

Again, the disciple’s life is a process. Along the way, though, are small events that by themselves may not seem that significant. But in the scope of the Kingdom they can work together to create a masterpiece, a “finished" product—the mature believer.

Every individual is different. We may not always know which step we take will lead to endeavors that enrich our lives and the lives of those around us to God’s glory. But one thing is certain: We’ll never know what could have been if we simply allow the opportunities to pass by us.

Choose Today

In the Old Testament we find the story of Abraham, who was a true forerunner of faith. Abraham’s life is sprinkled with opportunities for action. Time after time, Abraham made a choice to seek God first (Matthew 6:33). The life of Abraham is an Old Testament parallel for the New Testament believer’s life.

Bit by bit, little by little, as we invest more, we will experience a deepening of spiritual maturity. One small step may be all we need to get us moving in the right direction today. Whenever we move in the direction God wants, at each point—each step—we can find an expanded vision of His purposes, an increase in our own confidence, and a heightened zeal and joy in our life.

I could have easily told Don Reeverts that the young bouncy crowd just wasn’t for me. I could have blown Jay Oertli off. There were times when the hour Dan Stavely had reserved for me could have simply gone unattended.

We all have our excuses in life—those old standbys we know few people will challenge, much less overcome. We use these excuses to avoid opportunities that may lead somewhere substantial in the Kingdom.

What about you? If someone asked you to write a chapter about the steps of your own life, how would it read? Can you look back and see God at work? When you do look back, can you admit you still have a long way to go?

Think about it.

Once again, no one else can write your story for you. You determine the paths you will take. When an opportunity arises to move forward, there is something you can do. Move!

Henry Blackaby, the author of Experiencing God, spoke here in Denver not long ago, and I had the chance to hear him. This is one of the principles he mentioned: There is never a coincidence in the life of a Christian.

Chew on that one for a moment. Things that happen to us, some of which may seem entirely “by accident," just might very well be smack dab in the middle of God’s purposes for our lives.

So, this leads to an important question. . .

What non-coincidence is staring down at you right now? Anything come to mind? If nothing of note seems to have happened yet, trust me, friend, something is going to unfold.

Opportunities for growth in your life as a daily disciple will occur. Don’t miss them.

Applications to Daily Life

Consider the five keys mentioned in this article in the light of your own life:

• Are you pursuing relationships? Is another disciple pursuing you?

• Are these committed relationships?

• Are you open to the Holy Spirit’s teaching?

• Do you persevere in your relationships? Or do you tend to give up easily?

• Are you willing to put others first, before yourself?