The Virtue of Stickability

A few weeks ago, Vickie and I celebrated our 31st anniversary in children's ministry. This week, Vickie and I are celebrating our 21st anniversary of being Trinity Church International's Children's Pastors. That's a long time, isn't it! I can probably count on two hands the number of individuals that I know who have been in this ministry this long and on one hand the number of individuals who have been in the same church this long. Does this place me in the same category as the Model T car and the T Rex dinosaur? Am I an ancient relic?

The purpose for this week's blog is to applaud the virtue of stickability. I don't know whether or not "stickability" is actually a word. In today's world, it is a rare treat to find stickability.
You'll have to agree with me that it is rare to find anyone who sticks with anything for a long period of time. Many have the mindset that the grass is always greener on the other side causing them to move and then move again and then move again.

I admit that I have come by this virtue honestly. The people who shaped my life demonstrated stickability. My parents have been married for well over 50 years. The pastor who greatly influenced my life, B.B. Hankins, pastored my South Texas church in West Columbia for over 50 years. The pastor with whom Vickie and I are honored to serve under, Tom Peters, has been the pastor of Trinity for 38 years.

What is the bedrock for my stickability? I always ask myself this question, "What was the last thing that God told me to do?" and then I'll continue doing what I last heard from God. This means that I'll keep doing what I'm doing whether I like it or don't like it, whether things are going great or if it seems like God moved and failed to give me a forwarding address. What did God tell me to do? Has He given me a new direction? If not, I'll just keep doing what I am doing.

Here's the update for what has happened in our 21 years at Trinity (at least from what I see because I only see a part of the total picture) ... many boys and girls who sat under our ministry are now in full time ministry, only God knows the number of children who have been saved, filled with the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, healed, encouraged, and loved on. We have touched not only the children but also the lives of untold thousands of parents and grandparents as we've loved on their children. Need I go on?

Here's the ultimate reason for stickability as written by the apostle Paul ...

(1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV) "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

Because of stickability (stedfast, unmovable) our labor has not been in vain. I think that I'll go on for another 31 years in children's ministry and another 21 years at Trinity. Here's to stickability!