Lessons from a Potter’s Wheel – Part 6: Ability Does not Constitute a Call

In the early years (during the West Plains years), I was so thrilled and filled by the Holy Spirit that I thought I could do anything and wanted to do everything. That obviously is a formula for real trouble if one acts on such impulses. So it was with me. I have always been an avid reader of biographies feeling that the greatest teaching one can receive is at the feet of those who have been there and done that and who share their experiences in a narrative manner. Unfortunately, I identified so much with them that I always “felt called” to do the ministry of the last person whose story I read.

So, toward the end of the school year in 1967, I announced that I would resign my position with the West Plains school system. Inwardly, I was ready to jump off into that wonderful but somewhat nebulous world of doing what I considered to be the will of God! Unfortunately, I had no clear vision as to what the will of God was for my life at that time. Upon hearing of my resignation, the president of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce came to me asking if I would be interested in filling the position of Executive Director of the Chamber that had recently been vacated. I, frankly, was quite flattered and immediately set about to convince myself that this, indeed, was the will of God for me. Thus I launched into one of the most risky times of my ministry in that I presumed much on the good will of my Father in going my own way.

I must say that (for the most part) the merchants and professional people of West Plains were quite patient and went along with most of my ideas. (I was also to serve as the Industrial Development Representative for the West Plains area.) I jumped into the tasks with vigor and was set to turn my immediate world around with my efforts.

Many of my ideas were acted on by the proper people with permanent results. For example, just about that time, the merchants found out that Wal-Mart was planning to put in a store in the community. The downtown merchants were particularly nervous, feeling that they would be put out of business by the competition. One of the concerns they had was that they lacked the parking that would be available to Wal-Mart customers. The courthouse square was uniquely designed so that the courthouse was positioned in the midst of the square in a traffic circle. When one came down any of the streets that approached it, as he entered the block, he would have to circle around the courthouse to proceed on his way. The block was divided up into four corners, with a number of businesses and offices on each corner, each of which had very limited parking.

As I considered the problem, it suddenly occurred to me that in each case the block behind each of these corners of the square was cluttered by a mishmash of old buildings that were largely unused. I suggested that the city buy up each of those four areas and turn them into parking area and that each business remodel their back entrances so they had the appearance of being a front door, thus having a mini-shopping mall at each corner. They followed up on that with that system successfully in place today.

Additionally, there was a small community known as Pomona that was about equidistant from three towns, being in the middle of the triangle formed by those towns. West Plains was at one point of the triangle. It had occurred to me that we could capitalize on the potential of the larger workforce offered by the combined communities thus using that as a base for enticing industry into the area Property was ultimately bought adjacent to Pomona and was (and is) made available for industrial development. A regional airport was also a part of that plan.

While involvement in projects such as these was heady and exciting, my spirit was getting dry and I was losing the sense of the Lord’s presence; finding myself entering into a wilderness experience. By the end of the summer, I had to admit that I had made a serious mistake and was outside the will of God. Muchly chastened, I resigned and went back to the school system to teach another year. That year was to be a very formative year of my life.

I took a different teaching position than I formerly occupied and concurrently took the pastorate of a nearby church, New Liberty Baptist Church. It was there that I cut my spiritual teeth as pastor of a loving body of people who tolerated my spiritual eccentricities and immaturity with grace and appreciation. It was wonderful to be back in the will of God and I set myself to do credit to both positions that I held. This was a learning field and a humbling experience that prepared me for the next real step of faith I took, that of full time evangelism.

Lessons from the Potter’s Wheel: Human ability and commensurate opportunities do not constitute a call. While God is often patient with our headstrong acts, a course pursued outside His will, no matter how well we can do it or how enticing it may be, inevitably leads to discouragement and defeat to the inner man. A few months can seem like a lifetime when one is acting apart from the will of God.

Jeff

• Jefferson H. and Norma R. Floyd, CO-directors • Jubilee International • P. O. Box 572 • Noblesville, IN 46061 • Copyright November 2007 by Jefferson H. Floyd. All rights reserved.