367. God Qualifies

I just came back from house church conference in Houston, Texas. It was hosted by ESC (English-speaking Congregation) church for the first time and despite language difference, they served us so well. Also, the number of ESC pastors who attend has been growing in numbers, and it was evident in this conference. Usually, we only had one small group, but this time we had three. As a result, fellowship felt much richer and meaningful. And final message was given by Pastor Kwack and the message had me in tears. The importance of faithfully rowing together to move the ship of the New Testament church under the command of Jesus our captain touched and challenged the hearts of all pastors.

But the main concern for me in this conference was teaching the NLBS (New Life Bible Study). When I was first asked to teach, I said yes while expecting to teach to 6-10 ESC pastors as that was the average class size. But this time, we had 28 people who signed up to take NLBS. When I saw the final registered list, I felt the massive pressure. My biggest doubt was, “Am I qualified to teach?” Instead of excitement, worries grew instead. However, as I was doing QT one day on 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, I felt God speaking to me through the part where the apostle Paul says, “our adequacy is from God… He made us competent.” Through this, I decided to think less about my qualification but God who qualifies and gives grace to do what he called me to do.

But preparing the NLBS for teaching to pastors was another level of challenge compared to teaching to church members. Not only I had to present the material but convince them this is something they need to teach at their church, which requires the quality content and their personal conviction. It felt like agonizing months to prepare for this. My doubt grew again and began to worry if they find the class boring and decide not to offer in their church.

But once the class started, my worry dissipated. The pastors were attentive, and gave raving feedback and expressed gratitude for teaching the class. Many of them told me that they will be offering this right away once they get back to their church. I was relieved, but mostly thankful. Because I knew it wasn’t my teaching but the grace that God was with me (1 Cor 15:10) that not only qualified but enabled me to do what he called me to do. I was amazed again by the faithfulness of God and his promise.