Secret Identities

I was uncertain of my direction when the Lord started to move me from being a chaplain at the races to market place ministry. I had always thought my calling to minister was through a traditional role as a chaplain or pastor in a church. This was new ground for me…well it was all new ground, the calling, the business, employees, etc, etc, etc.

As our business grew, so did our relationships with people inside the racing industry. This opened up opportunities to minister to folks we never thought possible. I watched as the Lord opened door after door in the business world confirming the direction He wanted us to go.

Over the years, He has continued to confirmed our direction and how the ministry we accomplish in the marketplace is just as important as what we did as the chaplaincy of a given racing organization. Ministering as a businessman is very different though, it has more to do with action than words. When I was a chaplain, some folks would not approach me, but as a business owner they will because they see me as a ‘regular guy’.

Our Father is multifaceted in His approach to reaching His children. Some He touches through church ministries or their outreaches, others through a local chaplain and even others through Christ following business owners. Is He calling you to minister in the marketplace?

Blessings

Secret Identities
TGIF Today God Is First NextGen
by Charis Hillman Brown

“When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with the ‘sinners’ and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: ‘Why does He eat with tax collectors and “sinners”?’ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'” -Mark 2:16-18

I love superhero movies. An ordinary man or woman possesses an extraordinary gift, and then has to hide it in order to fit in in the world! Sounds similar to being a Christian, doesn’t it?

Though we’re called to “let our light shine”, sometimes we need a “secret identity” in order to reach people who might be turned off to the blatant message of the gospel for whatever reason.

There is a pastor in Singapore who, after several years of being in ministry felt called to the Arts. “God, are you for real?” he queried, quite perplexed by his awkward predicament. Most pastors would not risk pursuing something that could be construed as unbefitting for a spiritual leader.

But still, he felt the Holy Spirit’s promptings. He and his daughter decided to start rehearsing magic shows they had put on for friends and family but on a grander scale. Soon, they had opportunities to perform in auditoriums. And not long after, they sold out the largest venue in downtown Singapore for their magic show, “The Magic of Love.”

Thousands came to Singapore to see them perform. And although this loving pastor did not directly share the gospel during the show, his faith was evident in the way he conducted himself, and he was able to share his faith with fans afterward.

His story is a great testimony for how God can use a magician with a “secret identity” to reach the world for Him.*

*See the book, Give Me the Multitudes by Lawrence Khong.