By Rodney Cox
In the closing moments of our podcast interview with Shaun Dean from Standing Stone Ministry, I asked him if he had any last advice he would give to our listeners. Shaun’s response focused on pastors in crisis and is transcribed below.
Rodney Cox (left) interviews Shaun Dean (far right).
“I would say this. When is the last time you thought back to when you were first called into ministry? That’s the question I would have for your listeners.”
“What did that feel like? What was that experience for you? How did you know it was God? Just reexamining that calling to ministry. The reason I ask that question is John asked me that question and just like I did and so many have, um, when we ask that question as shepherds we see their faces light up and they remember. They remember why they answered the call in the first place, and how God met them right where they were, and, uh, it’s just a beautiful and powerful thing. And when you start in that place of remembering your calling, you know, it’s the old metaphor “if your compass is off one degree and you go that way for too long, you end up way off track.”
Shaun went on to say, “Christ is calling us to remember. To remember Him, to remember our calling, to remember our first love, and go back to Him. Because when we’re close to Jesus, when we’re clinging to Him, abiding with Him, it’s much harder to get off that one degree. But if we’re staying close, He will light our way.”
On a scale of 1 to 10 think about your current level of joy. Do you know where and when you left your first love and God’s true call on your life? Who are you processing through that with?
It is my firm conviction that it is impossible to be healed if you hide.
For if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. John 1:7
I implore you to humble yourself and call out to God for his grace. For he gives grace to the humble but resists the proud – James 4:6. Reach out to an organization like Standing Stones which has been called by God and has a proven track record of coming alongside believers just like you. You are not alone unless you choose to be alone.
God gives us a promise in this same passage. The promise is that if you humble yourselves before the Lord, He will lift you up in due time.
Shaun Dean is the Eastern US Director for Standing Stone Ministry. Learn more at https://standingstoneministry.org/.
January 2023