‘Purpose’
When you enter the word ‘purpose’ in Google, you will get over 4 billion sites telling you their definition of purpose. Some answers will be right on the money, aligning with most people’s definition. Other answers may raise an eyebrow or two. But what stands out to me is that the term “purpose” is searched enough that over 4 billion sites talk about this term. It would seem to me there is a lot of people searching for purpose these days.
I love it when we use Google as a pseudo-scientific experiment to prove something. But we don’t need Google to prove that we are ‘searching’ for purpose, something that gives our lives meaning and direction. At Seed, we believe that finding your purpose begins with understanding God’s purpose, for this World and for his people.
The challenge we have is that seeking out and embodying purpose is not a one-size-fits-all approach. We are uniquely crafted to serve an individual purpose on this earth. Therefore the defining, refining and exploration of that purpose will look a little different for everyone. Fundamentally, the invitation to enter into purpose is the same for all of us, even if the journey to find it is different for everyone.
How do you step into that invitation that God gives to enter into purpose?
For some people, it begins by asking the question What do I love to do?…and start doing just that.
For others it’s a retrospective journey, looking back at the moments when they felt most connected to God and the world around them.
And still, for other’s it begins with answering questions, like:
What is wrong that needs to be righted?
What injustice needs to be resisted?
What problem needs to be solved?
However you begin your journey of purpose it’s important to remember that we don’t need to be the next Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, or Martin Luther King Jr. Those inspiring, history-changing individuals didn’t just wake up one morning completely clear on the change they were going to make in the world. They were clear, however, on being committed to the journey.
Just remember that 8 years before Martin Luther King gave his famous “I have a dream’ speech in front of thousands of people, there was a lady named Rosa Park. She saw an injustice that needed to be resisted. It wasn’t in front of thousands of people, it wasn’t a big plan. By keeping her seat on that bus, she made the choice to move towards action, to solve something, to create something.
Author and Pastor Brian Zahnd says the following: We have been deceived in our thinking that God is mostly found in the big and loud, when in fact, God is almost never found in the big and loud. The ways of God are predominantly small and quiet. The ways of God are about as loud as seed falling on the ground or bread rising in an oven. The ways of God are almost never found in the shouts of the crowd; the ways of God are more often found in trickling tears and whispered prayers. We want God to do a big thing, while God is planning to do a small thing. We are impressed by the big and loud. God is not. We are in a hurry. God is not. We want God to act fast, here and now.
When we wait for God to act, we tend to forget that God is always acting, because God is always loving his creation. And He has invited you to begin the journey of discovering purpose and through that to begin to act, to solve, to create.
Incubator
So, if you have a Problem you want to solve or a context you want to change,…. Come and join us at Seed’s 2020 Incubator!
Designed to set you up to succeed. The Incubator leads you through Seed’s specially developed Redemptive Design process. You will work alongside a community of participants, coaches and subject-matter experts focused on helping you grow and create an impact for Jesus in the world. The Incubator is a 5-month program that includes three 3-day residential intensives, masterclasses, the Seed Summit 2020, a showcase event and 1:1 coaching for the duration of the program.
SPACES ARE LIMITED
Applications now open for our 2020 cohort. Applications close 30 November 2019.
Visit seed.org.au/incubator to apply.