Written by our Director of Children’s Ministry, Kelly Kaufmann.
Every day we wake up now and we think about how we can make this day different from the day before as we continue to tick off the days of pandemic, social distancing, and quarantine. In our home, we pray each morning that we will make the hours given to us count for significance, for productivity. As a collective people, we fuss with our masks, we mourn what we perceive is lost, and we grow agitated with disruption to our regularly scheduled lives. Some of us pivot and embrace innovation for the current circumstances. Some of us lay low and wait for the “all clear” signal. Some grumble. Some fear. Some despair. Regardless of our emotion on any given day, we cannot afford to stall now. If we shift our focus to a kingdom lens, we see the momentum that God offers us, but to seize it, we must stop looking at our present sufferings. We must move our gaze to the future—the future that will belong to the resilient children and youth watching us now.
In 1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 2 we read the account of Elijah, a mighty prophet of the living God. Although he knew and experienced God’s power and provision, Elijah grumbled, he feared, and he even despaired when it seemed all was lost. In a moment when Elijah questioned everything and desperately wanted to give up, God tenderly restored his strength and his purpose. Directed to find his newly appointed student, Elijah soon brought Elisha under his wing, making him an observer and a student of his ministry. Elisha would become the successor, the one to follow Elijah, the one to carry the ministry to the next level.
When it became known that God would soon take Elijah to heaven, Elisha asked for a difficult inheritance—namely, a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, or the Spirit in Elijah. Elisha desired to be like his mentor, but even more so. He wanted the ministry to be magnified and multiplied under his leadership. Elijah allowed his cloak, his mantle, to fall on Elisha and he did not begrudge him the even greater gift. The Bible tells us that Elisha did more miracles and greater miracles than Elijah.
Are we, in our circumstances, willing to stop thinking and talking about only what we can do now? We must be willing to look beyond our short-term, stop-gap innovative digital solutions to isolated ministry. We should be looking at the eyes that are looking at us. Our children, our youth, are watching us—parents, teachers, pastors, mentors, coaches—to see what they can learn from us during this time. They often struggle silently while trying to grasp what is happening to their world and what is happening to their faith.
Psalm 102:18 says, “Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.”
This verse implores first the nation of Israel, and by association all worshipers of God, to record our story for the next generation so that they may praise the LORD. What will we write? What will we fill in? How will we tell the account of the COVID-19 pandemic? Will we tell of the disruption, despair, and frustration? Or will we give an account of the momentum towards something new, better, more kingdom-worthy? Will we give the next generation genuine hearts of praise? What will be the account of our children when they re-tell the tale? Will they want a double-portion of us?
We must consider how we are equipping them to become the next generation of church leaders and godly influencers. We must be content to let our accomplishments finish their purpose and make way for the leadership of the resilient ones who follow in our footsteps. Are we willing to pray that they receive a double portion of ministry spirit? Are we ready for the handoff? If we are to prepare them, we must invite them in—to catch the fire burning in us, to be impacted by the Spirit in us, to see, to talk, to ask, to pray. We must desire more for them, and we must hope for them to accomplish more than us. What happens now in our homes, in our towns, in our churches will shape the future leadership and innovation of the church around the globe. God has the momentum for the new thing. Lift your eyes of faith up to catch the kingdom view, and pray for magnification and multiplication as you hand the keys to the ones under your mantle.
Kelly Kaufmann
