A Commencement Prayer of Blessing
I was privileged to serve five years as Campus Pastor at the national Bible College of my denomination. It was a wonderful season of life and ministry, walking with the most incredible people I have ever known – administrators, faculty, staff, and students. My colleagues remain cherished friends to this day. And those life-changing students: It was my great joy and privilege to help teach and train them for life in ministry across America and around the world.
It is my ongoing privilege to walk with a large number of those students today. I talk or text with many former students from time to time while a few dozen of them are members of Journey Pastoral Coaching, giving us the opportunity to talk every two weeks or so. In college, I helped prepare these students for life in ministry; today, I help them process life in ministry. Through the generosity of individuals and churches, we are able to do so at no financial cost to our members.
Four years ago I was invited to give the blessing over the final graduating class of that school, Central Bible College. It was both an historic and moving moment, one that I will never forget and always treasure.
A young minister recently spoke with me of that blessing, noting its value, not only for him then as a graduating student, but still today in his early years of ministry. This young minister said he refers to this prayer of blessing from time to time he as he carries out his ministry of the Gospel. He thought it an appropriate blessing not only for graduating ministers, but for all young ministers, and so, encouraged me to consider posting it for others to read.
As we are in the scholastic commencement season of 2018, I agreed to his request, and so, post this blessing for graduating seniors and young ministers alike.
I pray God will bless your life and vocation in life in the following ways:
1. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR “ALWAYS”
Always resist merely existing; always insist instead on living, and living to the fullest.
Always pray. And always pray believing.
Always believe in God’s best for you. Always believe the best of others as much as possible.
Always believe that anything is possible to those who believe in the “always” promises of our always faithful God.
GOD BLESS YOUR “ALWAYS”
2. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR CALLING
Calling: For there to be a calling, there must also be One who calls. And this is the key to fulfilling our call. It is not so much what we do in life as it is for whom we do it that makes the difference.
The call of God is not first to do something for God; the call is first to God Himself, the Audience of One.
Let your lifelong calling and passion be to please the Audience of One.
GOD BLESS YOUR CALLING
3. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR CONVICTIONS
Believing nothing, we live for nothing. Convinced of nothing, our lives and words are in no way convincing.
As an anonymous sage has said, “To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”
But the courage of our convictions will be the fuel for the fire of a life well lived before God, a life well lived for God.
GOD BLESS YOUR CONVICTIONS
4. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR DISCIPLESHIP
A true disciple fixes himself to Jesus as hard and true as Jesus fixed Himself to the Cross.
What Jesus said about discipleship and carrying our cross is not found in some imaginary appendix to the Bible, but written clearly and boldly in the very heart of the Bible. It is not written merely in ink symbols on paper, but in the blood of the Savior who carried His Cross for each and every one of us.
To follow Jesus is to carry a cross, plain and simple, and rest assured the cross will always cost us. But with this, we have an even greater assurance: at the end of our cross-journey awaits our crown-glory in the presence of the One who first bore His cross for us.
GOD BLESS YOUR DISCIPLESHIP
5. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR DREAMS
If you haven’t started dreaming yet, start today.
Never stop dreaming or let adversity undo your dreams.
But dream knowing that it’s never enough to only dream. Many are those who have spent their early years dreaming of what could be only to pass their later years dreaming of what could have been. For these, dreaming becomes a way of life: in their dreaming, life falls through their fingers and is lost. Know that as you dream with God, that His dreams will not put you to selfish sleep, but will rouse you to great action.
GOD BLESS YOUR DREAMS
6. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR FIRE
The world has far too many cold and moldy souls, lifeless and thoughtless drones who live bowed in an icy and empty existence.
But there are those who live looking for fire in their existence and light in their darkness . . . These shall not be disappointed! Their fire for God will be answered by fire from God.
So, to quote John Wesley, “Get on fire for God and men will come to watch you burn.”
GOD BLESS YOUR FIRE
7. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR MIND
Diplomas don’t make you intelligent; many an empty room is well papered.
Os Guinness wrote: “Thinking Christianly is thinking by Christians about anything and everything in a consistently Christian way – in a manner that is shaped, directed, and restrained by the truth of God’s Word and God’s Spirit.
Therefore, think well, continue learning to think well, and so honor God for the intelligence with which He has blessed you.
GOD BLESS YOUR MIND AND HOW YOU USE IT
8. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR MINISTRY
Will you give your life to make dollars or to make disciples?
Whose life will be different for you having walked in this world?
Your work and ministry every day are a vital part of your worship unto God. Your work and ministry are the self-portrait of the Savior in you and through you. Let Him paint freely the person He would have you be; let Him paint freely through you in the lives of those to whom He leads you.
GOD BLESS YOUR MINISTRY
9. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR MISTAKES
He who makes no mistakes never tries anything new and will never accomplish anything of consequence or value.
Many of history’s world changers have observed that mistakes are very often doorways to discovery, essential thresholds in learning.
So give yourself the freedom to make mistakes. Make mistakes boldly so that you may receive grace boldly for them and learn boldly from them.
GOD BLESS YOUR MISTAKES
10. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR “NEVERS”
Never color completely inside the lines of life, the lines that others would draw around you.
Never stop imagining what can be and never making it be as God enables you to do so.
Never stop gazing at stars.
Never stop humming or even singing out loud.
Never grow up. Not completely.
Never stop trusting, worshipping, serving, seeking and passionately pursuing the God who loves you.
GOD BLESS YOUR NEVERS
11. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR SERVANTHOOD
Christ’s Lordship means Christ’s ownership. And his ownership means our service. It is in serving Him and others in His name that we are truly marked as His.
Throughout your life, be careful to wash the feet of others because, as the Last Supper shows us, this is who Jesus is, this is what Jesus does. And if Jesus can wash feet on His way to die for me, surely I can wash feet as I follow Him in the life He has given me.
Always give second-mile service and blessing to those who are not in any position to help you or to advance your agenda. It is in this way that we give Jesus to a world that needs deed as much as word in order to understand who Jesus is.
GOD BLESS YOUR SERVANTHOOD
This is my prayer of blessing upon you.
If these things you will give attention to, God’s blessing will ever rest on you.
Now go turn your world upside down, one life at at time.
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NOTE: Journey Pastoral Coaching provides pastoral coaching to Millennial ministers.
Saddled with large student debt, just beginning to set up homes and start families, and serving in low paying first and second positions, Millennials are those who most desire but can least afford to pay for pastoral coaching.
So we offer it to them at no cost: Member do not PAY for coaching; they EARN it.
We are able to do so through the faithful and generous gifts of friends who want to see young leaders not only enter the ministry, but remain in the ministry. If you or your church would like to help Millennial ministers in 21 US states and 5 nations build strong for a lifetime in ministry, please click here to contact us by email or to support Journey monthly or with your one-time gift. Thank you.
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