Running Toward People

In early April I repeatedly heard the word “pivot” to describe what we as leaders and organizations needed to be doing to adjust and survive in this global pandemic.

I resisted the word.

The metaphor is one I understand. I played basketball and could pivot with the best of my teammates. Redirect. Turn. Pass. And go quickly in a different direction.

But as I have mused over the months and watched our VP3 Team, I can say with absolute certainty that here at VP3 there has been no sharp pivot.

Fewer airline tickets, disappointment in not being face-to-face with old and new friends, screen fatigue, and just plain weariness. But there has been no pivot. Rather, we have been reminded, and encouraged, and invited by the Lord to continue to help Christ-followers discover for themselves who God is, who they were created to be, and how God desires to work through them.

The church historically has run toward the fire during times of trouble. We as a ministry are more focused than ever in our desire to “run toward people” during this ongoing pandemic.

We sense the Lord encouraging us to do our part in the midst of great struggle. To rise up and move toward people in friendship, through our processes for sure, and through all the things we have always done. We invite you to do the same. How can you run toward people at this time?

We are biologically predisposed to need relationships. Without friendships, it is very difficult to get by, let alone thrive. Isolation can lead to really bad outcomes. When we gather with friends – new and old and somewhere in between – we are refreshed and revitalized for God’s ongoing journey. And it looks to me like the next few months are going to be a bumpy journey.

Regular committed gatherings with others, either safely in person or online …

1. lifts our attitudes. 
2. helps us name and make sense of what is hard to understand. 
3. gives us space to pay attention more clearly to how God is working in our lives in ways we cannot see for ourselves.

We have not pivoted at VP3. We are, with God’s help, pressing on towards the goal that the Lord has given us more than 20 years ago. 

We invite you to join us in this challenge of running toward people.