Do you really want it?

This past week I went to VOUS Conference in Miami, FL for the second time in my life. Rich and Dawnchere Wilkerson are the pastors of VOUS Church and every time I visit, I am struck by the stewardship of the house. Rich and Dawnchere are amazing pastors and leaders in today’s world and I admire them and the work God is doing through them.

This year, we got a chance to hear from many of the leaders who inspired them, including their parents. In a panel entitled, “Lose the world, gain your soul”, many shared what it actually takes to abandon the world and pursue Christ wholeheartedly. They invited Dawnchere’s father, Pastor Duron, to be one of the panelists as well. When Pastor Rich asked Pastor Duron about his take on this, he used a sports analogy to separate those who lose the world and gain their soul well from those who don’t. It comes down to disciplines.

“Everyone has goals, not everyone has disciplines. Winners & losers both have goals, but they don’t have the same disciplines.”

This alone struck me. Goals, dreams, and vision aren’t enough. I have those things but without disciplines, I would lose.

Pastor Duron then proceeded to affirm and uplift his son-in-law, Pastor Rich Wilkerson. He mentioned all the things behind the scenes that we do not see. He talked about how even with this conference, he was waking up early, going to the gym, then taking an ice bath, and so on and so forth (mind you this thing started at 8 am, even earlier for volunteers). Disciplined. I had already admired Rich because of the authenticity of the church he leads. He stands on the truth. He is sound in the word. He not only shepherds an amazing church but also leads and loves his family abundantly and first. Beyond that, the Lord has led him to host this conference every year. VOUScon has so many moving parts, incredible leaders speaking and teaching breakouts, thousands of volunteers, and thousands of people coming to worship and encounter God. I wondered, Lord how are they doing this year after year? How are they able to operate with such excellence and stay in tune with your spirit on this level? How are they able to maintain this in integrity?

A commitment and submission to Jesus, yes, but what does that look like? Total surrender. They let their love for the Lord shape their lives, not just a portion of it but everything. They gave all of their lives. All of their time. All of their hearts. Everything. Fully committed and dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ.

We can look at their lives and say wow, but the truth is that they died for this. Dreams take discipline. Discipline takes sacrifice. Sacrifice is dying. Living for Christ takes sacrifice. It means dying to your flesh. To really give God your all, to be used to the brim, you must die to yourself and your selfish desires. In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” When we choose to follow Christ, we choose to follow his way, not ours; to be led by his spirit, not by our flesh.

So tonight, I came face to face with a question we all must ask ourselves. Do we really want to die as much as we say we want to?

I looked at the leadership there and thought about what Pastor Duron had said earlier.

I keep waiting for a season that will produce the “perfect conditions” to learn that, to grow here, to do this. I have all these dreams and desires to serve the Lord, but if I only talk about them instead of disciplining myself to execute them, they will only ever be words, dreams, and desires and that is not enough.

At some point, we’re going to have to make a decision. Do we want to coddle “our” lives or are we willing to surrender everything?

“Do you want to die as much as you say you want to?”