I was enjoying a tall Hyatt-prepared yogurt parfait (the Mike Leahy special) the afternoon following my return to Liquid Kids in Morristown. Overall, it was a fantastic day, and while I missed my friends and family at Liquid New Brunswick, it was such a blessing reconnecting with old friends in Morristown.
During my parfait-eating session, my friend Yuzo (Francisco to many) said to me (in his endearing broken English), “You are one most influential people at Liquid.”
Whoa. Talk about a world-rattling statement. Sure, it was a compliment, but the weight of that statement hit me like an ACME anvil.
Influence is defined as “the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others.”
That’s a lot of responsibility, if you ask me. Responsibility I never asked for, and if I had my way, I’d try my best to get rid of. I was perfectly happy just hanging out in the back of the service, enjoying the music and learning from the sermons.
But here’s where everything changed. I asked God to help me grow. And as it turns out, growth comes through stretching and expanding, and those are rarely comfortable experiences.
As I thought about what Yuzo said, I started to realize the truth in his statement. I recalled my first year attending Liquid Church, sneaking into a service and sticking close to my best friend, and then dwelled on my last month here, spending an average of 16 hours on a Sunday serving the people of this church. How did I get here?
The realization that my sphere of influence has grown dramatically over the last year and 8 months is a sobering reality to live in. Suddenly I’m entrusted with the care of people’s hearts. Suddenly I have to be careful about how I interact with people. Suddenly I have to think about every action and every word.
And if I were completely honest with myself, I’d have to say that I haven’t been very careful.
So now I stand here asking myself, Am I ready for this kind of responsibility?
(click the pic!)