January 14, 2025 • 31 mins
What happens when a commercial contractor finds himself on a transformative journey into the heart of community service? Eric Lane, the founder and executive director of Fellowship Missions, joins us to share his fascinating transition from project management to leading a nonprofit in Warsaw, Indiana, that supports those struggling with homelessness and addiction. Drawn by a construction project at Warsaw Community Church, Eric's career took an unexpected turn, fueled by pivotal life decisions and the unwavering support of his wife, Tammy. Eric candidly reflects on the moments that stirred his soul, inspiring him to embrace his calling and change the lives of countless individuals within his community.
Eric recounts the challenging yet enriching journey of establishing Fellowship Missions, highlighting the importance of faith and perseverance. From the initial steps in 2010 to addressing housing support needs to the pivotal spiritual experiences that shaped his path, Eric's story is a testament to trusting in a higher plan. You'll hear about the liberating process of stepping out of your comfort zone, evidenced by anecdotes of moving to Papua New Guinea and adopting a child. By weaving scriptural insights with personal anecdotes, Eric's narrative encourages listeners to embrace change, recognize divine opportunities, and find fulfillment in aligning with a greater purpose. Join us for a conversation that promises to inspire and uplift, illuminating the power of faith and resilience in leadership.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is the Leaders on Fire podcast.
On this show, we'll be invitingguests in to talk about
crucible moments in their livesand unpack how it developed
character and perseverance andhow they emerged as leaders on
fire.
We hope that this podcast is anencouragement and an
inspiration to you.
Today we have in the studioEric Lane.
(00:25):
He is the founder and executivedirector of Fellowship Missions
.
It's a nonprofit right here inWarsaw, indiana, and they focus
on homelessness and addictionrecovery.
Man.
They are doing some reallygreat things.
I'm excited to hear from Erictoday and hear about some of his
crucible moments that haveshaped his leadership.
Of his crucible moments thathave shaped his leadership.
Eric, welcome to the Leaders onFire podcast.
(00:48):
How are you doing today, manGood?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
man, Appreciate you having me on and yeah, look
forward to this.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
It's going to be fun.
Yeah, man.
Well, I'm super pumped to haveyou.
I know a little bit of yourstory.
We go back a little ways.
I don't remember when it was,maybe what mid-200, 2005,
somewhere in there, 2003.
I don't remember.
But I first met you when youwere project superintendent for
the Warsaw Community ChurchProject.
You weren't staff at WCC, youwere with the contractor that
they'd hired overseeing theproject.
(01:13):
So it'll be interesting to hearhow you got from there to where
you are today as executivedirector and founder of
Fellowship Missions.
So tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So yeah, I mean, I'll just start there my background
commercial construction, projectmanagement and architecture.
I grew up in a family ofcontractors.
My dad was a contractor and so,yeah, when you and I met back
in 04 and 05, that's what I wasdoing was project manager,
construction project manager,building WCC, and it was
(01:48):
interesting in that season oflife.
That's what brought us toWarsaw.
I mean, that was kind of thatfirst step for God moving us
around a little bit.
And yeah, it was just that'swho I am, is that construction
guy.
That's in my blood.
But also, probably the mostimportant part about me is
(02:09):
husband to Tammy Lane and fatherto Brooke Brayden and Lily Lane
.
So we've got three kids Now.
We have a son-in-law, adaughter-in-law and we have a
grandson, liam with Braden andLiza's, and we have one that
will be coming in November thatwe'll know here soon if it's a
(02:31):
boy or a girl.
So yeah, we're really excitedabout that.
But yeah, originally fromMuncie, indiana, spent less than
half of our lives there.
So now we've been up here inthe Warsaw area.
But yeah, we just that's who.
We are A very family orientedcouple, so do a lot of stuff
(02:53):
with family, but yeah, we just,we love this area.
But that's how we got here, man, it was working construction
and we did.
We literally fell in love withthis area and that's what made
the decision.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
So were you living in Muncie at the time.
Yeah, living in Muncie, andthen you had this project for
Worslaw Community Church and soyou were commuting or were you
staying up here for the project.
Very little, I mean it was nice.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Two hour, a little over two hour commute one way
every day, so it was four hourcommute.
So it was a four-hour commute,so it gave me time to ramp up
and then also it gave me ade-escalation time on the way
home.
Very few times did I stay uphere overnight, but yeah, I just
fell in love with the familyfeel of this community.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Awesome man.
Well, tell us a little bitabout your journey.
So we lit the fire, got to knowyou a little bit.
Now I'm going to start fanningthe flame and we're going to
work towards getting deeper here.
But you know, I wanted to findout a little bit more about what
happened, like what hooks, thehook line and sinker that got
(03:55):
you to Warsaw.
So we know it was the projectat Warsaw Community Church, but
when did you move here and whatdid you do?
Did you stay in construction ordid you make some sort of a
shift?
And what happened between thereand fellowship missions?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
So interesting time.
We were the constructioncompany I was actually working
for had actually come to me andsat down and said, hey, we're
going to open an office down inCarmel, indiana, and had
proposed a job down there.
So we were actually I don'tknow how serious we were at that
(04:28):
time, but we were talking aboutit.
I don't remember it because wedidn't talk about it long, but
not too long after that, dennyand Rich Haddad had actually
approached me and said hey, wewould love for you to come on
staff and kind of be ourfacilities and event operations
guy.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Of course they were, and they probably said hey, you
know what?
We're going to give you a raisetoo.
Oh yeah, that was it.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, it came with a lot of dollar signs, you know,
but it was just so interestingbecause not too long before that
I feel, you know, when my wifeshe's not one to really make
quick decisions and I am, so wehave to definitely balance each
other out and I know I alwaysknow when she's ready to do that
(05:11):
.
I know God's using her to speakto me and he's got us unified.
But they came to me and madethis offer and I went back to
her and I believe it was acouple of weeks two, three weeks
before that we'd had a tour ofthe building and we'd gone to
church they were hosting churchat Lakeview Middle School at
that time and we'd gone tochurch and then we had this big
(05:33):
open house at the building.
It was nowhere near completionand just got to know more people
.
And after that, I'll neverforget, my wife got in the car,
she shut the door and she goesif you get a job opportunity up
here, I'm ready to move.
And I'm like hold on,something's happening.
I'm like all right, becauseDenny you know Denny's was I'd
(05:56):
started riding bikes with him onthe trails and he'd always
teased about if we'd come uphere.
And it wasn't long after that,the offer was there and I didn't
have to hesitate.
We were like, yeah, we're ready.
And then I had to tell my bossat Aspen Group that, hey, we're
going to end up doing this andthey allowed me to close out the
building because literally theday I stopped working at Aspen
(06:21):
Group, the next day was thefirst Sunday of the building and
I went to work.
I get goosebumps about it now soit was awesome, so it was a
quick transition and our lifehas been like that in many ways.
When God has us both unified,they're very quick decisions.
(06:42):
Unified, they're very quickdecisions and my wife will
always.
We both talk about it, but shesays you know the power of a yes
and what that can do and youknow, yeah, so that's just been
our life.
When we say yes, it's we justhold on and see what God does.
It's been cool.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Man, that's crazy.
Yeah, I do vaguely rememberseeing Eric Lane as kind of the
superintendent of the Aspengroup because I was involved at
WCC just volunteering and doingthe worship team and different
things like that, and supportersof their campaign.
And then next thing you knowI'm seeing you every weekend on
a Sunday up there.
I'm like okay, what's happeninghere?
And then find out that you gotrecruited away from Aspen during
(07:22):
that project and now you're onstaff at WCC.
Now how long were you on staffthere?
Five years.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
It was great experience and again, another
chapter and also another pivotalpoint that brought us to where
we're at now.
I got exposed to Katrina, theaftermath of Katrina, and
started going down there, Endedup leading close to seven trips
through WCC doing that.
(07:49):
And then it was funny, my wifeand I were sitting at home one
night and man, I'm just, I'mloving it because one
construction love that and lovepeople.
So I'm like this is like mywheelhouse.
Okay, god, what are you doing?
What are you doing?
And she looked at me one nightand she goes we're not moving to
Mississippi, are we?
I was like wait, I said I don'tknow, but I don't think so
right now.
It's just the way he's moved inour lives.
(08:11):
But that's what got meconnected in the church, but not
in my role at the church,started getting me connected in
other ways and again just sayingyes and being vulnerable to say
, yeah, there's individuals thatare hurting, let's go help.
And yeah, that started anotherjourney at WCC.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Yeah.
So kind of tell us the earlyseeds of fellowship missions,
because you were at WCC for fiveyears and I know that we'll
enter the crucible in a littlebit and I know there's a deeper
part to this story, but for nowjust kind of talk about what you
know.
What was that tap on theshoulder?
What was that transition like?
So you're at WCC for five years.
(08:52):
Was it all of a sudden like hey, I'm going to start a homeless
shelter in recovery place foraddicts and for homeless and
we're going to start tomorrow?
Or did it slowly, like were youoverlapping both before you
went full time?
I feel like there was a periodof a couple of years where you
were in both before you wentfull-time.
I don't know how long that was,but kind of just talk about
that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
It was actually pretty quick.
It was just several monthsactually, and there was overlap,
so we were doing both andyou're right, there is that tap
on the shoulder moment and,without getting too deep into
that, it was is really that, um,for us, james two, 14 through
17,.
You know faith and deeds andthere's a lot of needs out there
(09:31):
and we have so many resources,and for us to say, hey, go, be
warm and well fed and do nothingabout it.
Just, just, it was the thorn inmy side and that's kind of
again being very brief about it.
Um, that's what kind of led usto the decision that we made to
start Fellowship Mission.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
The awareness must have come through some sort of
exposure, like how did you knowthere was a need?
Because for God to tap you onthe shoulder, you had to have
some awareness or an exposure toa problem.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Yeah, so the season before that so December 2009 and
January, february, march of2010, there was actually a
shelter that was shared betweenthree different agencies or
three different churchesactually, ours happened to be
one of them and I went to Dennyand Rich said, hey, as far as
(10:21):
number-wise, we're the largestchurch in the community.
We need to be a part of this,and how are we going to serve
people in our community in thiscapacity?
And they said, yeah, go for it.
Like I have no idea what we'regoing to do.
So we held a meeting one night.
There was a church that washosting it in December, and then
we were going to take January,and then another church in
February, and then we ended uphosting again in March.
(10:42):
We went one night and had ameeting with anybody who's
interested in volunteering, andwe had all of our volunteers one
night in January.
And really how God startedworking on us is we got to know
the individuals that were comingin.
The very first night we hadMike we called him Little Mike
(11:06):
and then two Steves.
One of the Steves has actuallyhe passed away probably five
years ago, and then the otherone just texted me a couple
nights ago.
He's now living in Kentucky,which is really cool.
He's now a grandpa down there.
But it was just about gettingto know people, getting to hear
their stories, getting to knowthem on a very personal level,
(11:27):
what makes them tick, puttingpuzzles together, playing
basketball in the back parkinglot, just sitting down having
meals, and that's what reallystarted to move our hearts.
There was one other moment thatthe very first night that we
hosted, that next morning wewould take the guys over to
(11:50):
McDonald's and usually buy themsomething to eat.
And then you know, kind ofbecause it wasn't a day, it was
just overnight, 7 pm to like 7am because we were hosting in
the bottom of the offices at thechurch.
And I remember taking thosethree guys and I'll never forget
where we sat, the booth, and toour left was the drive-thru.
There was a window to thedrive-thru and I remember
(12:14):
sitting and watching peopleactually sidestep our table.
Because if you were going tostereotype people someone who
doesn't have a home and thatcould live on the streets, it
would have been those three guys, three beautiful guys, but you
would have done that and Iwatched people sidestep our
table.
I mean they literally wentaround to go out the door.
That was a couple booths behindus and I remember in that moment
(12:37):
, god hitting me.
It wasn't a two-by-four moment,it was a four-by-four moment
going how many times have youdone that?
And I've learned since then.
I didn't think.
I mean, we are all God'schildren, created in his image,
no different.
We're all have differentcircumstances, but not created
any different.
And how dare you, how manytimes have you done this and how
(12:59):
dare you do that?
And really opened my eyes and Ihad no idea what was going on
then.
I mean, it wrecked me thatmorning.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Wow, sounds like a familiar story out of the
gospels, doesn't it A little bit?
Yeah, okay, are you gettingwarmed up?
You feeling warmed up here?
Let's do it All right.
Well, we're going to crank upthe heat and enter the crucible.
So, yeah, let's talk about acrucible moment in your life,
and I'm assuming that it has todo with the transition into
(13:29):
fellowship missions.
And having known just a littlebit of your story and
interacting over the years, Iknow that launching a nonprofit
in and of itself can bechallenging.
What you set out to do wasincredibly challenging and I
know that there was an enormousamount of time and sweat and
tears and stress and a lot ofthings that went along with the
(13:54):
beautiful outcome that we seetoday and that we've seen along
the way.
And so people from the outsidelooking in go oh, look at this
wonderful little ministry andall the things they're doing
there.
But, man, behind the curtain,there is a lot that's been going
on and a lot of that you'vecarried on your shoulders.
Now you've got an amazing teamand you've had support and team
along the way, but I know it'snot been an easy journey.
(14:17):
So there's probably a lot tounpack in the whole story of
fellowship missions, but pick acrucible moment or one or two
that you really feel like mightbe an encouragement to those
listening about perseveringthrough the hard stuff,
persevering through the cruciblemoments so that you can emerge
with refined character and as aleader on fire.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Getting to where we're at now.
Again, this is all God's.
We've been blessed to be a partof this journey, but how it all
started was actually what I wasjust sharing earlier about
getting exposed to it, right,and then seeing a need in our
community.
Then what's next, right?
Then it's the wrestling going.
(15:00):
Okay, god, what do you wantdone?
Give me the to-do list and I'llgo do it.
Well, that's not exactly how itworks, as you know.
So you know I'm waiting, god.
Yeah, I'm ready, I'll do this.
Just give me the list, give meall of this.
And so, during this time, weactually at the end of March of
(15:23):
2010,.
We're like, where are thesegentlemen going?
We actually had nine guysinside the church offices at
that moment and we're like, okay, this can't be all that it is.
And again, there's resourcesall around us.
So I actually went to one ofthe staff members at WCC.
I knew he had a rental home andI said, hey, joe got a question
(15:47):
, would you and your wifeconsider renting this home?
And he said for what?
And I said, well, we need aplace for these guys.
And so came back a couple ofdays later.
Luckily, it was three daysbefore we were supposed to end
in March, and he said, yeah,we'd love to Gave us the price,
we'd love to Gave us the price.
And we're like, all right,we're going to do it.
I had no idea what was going tohappen, or we just knew okay,
god's stirring us to keep movingforward.
(16:08):
So April 1st comes it wasn't anApril Fool's joke we moved
seven of the nine guys into thishouse and I mean it was total
animal house kind of look, youknow, the picnic table for a
dining room table, all of this.
And then it's kind of like okay, so we have these guys, they
(16:30):
have a safe roof over their head, but there's gotta be more.
So then it start this wholeprocess.
We're going through the bookExperiencing God by.
Blackaby.
It was actually my third timegoing through this book, so I
must have needed it quite a bit.
And our small group at onepoint in time actually had a
intervention with me and my wifeand we started into the book
(16:54):
one group time and they allclosed and said hey, we're
praying for you guys, we see itin you.
What's going on and what'sinteresting is the other three
couples all worked at WCC.
One of the members of thecouple worked at WCC and then my
wife and I we went, and so I'mwrestling every single day.
Okay, god, just give me theto-do list, and he's not.
(17:14):
What year was this?
This was 2010.
Okay, so he's not giving it tome, my wife's giving me.
I mean, we're both in sync.
Okay, she's giving meencouraging scriptures every day
.
We're talking about it.
We go away to a pastor's retreatin Holmes County, ohio, middle
(17:36):
of Amish country, beautiful area, and I don't know, man, it's
just, I wanted everything niceand tidy.
You've got a house, you've gota car, you've got these things
right.
I mean, you've been there, donethat and it's like, how does
this work?
I'm willing to do it, but Ineed something, god, from you,
(17:58):
and it's not how it reallyworked out, but it did work out
that way actually.
And so we go away to HolmesCounty and I think this was a
very pivotal moment for mepersonally.
We go away, we have all of ourcouple's time together, but
there was one day we went awayand they made us go separate.
(18:20):
So the whole morning we wentour own direction and then came
back at lunchtime and there werea couple Adirondack chairs down
in this little ravine thatlooked into a woods and I don't
know that I've ever heard Godwell, I'd have never really
heard him speak audibly throughpeople, you know, through the
spirit, and but I've neveraudibly until this moment.
(18:43):
And I'm sitting there and I'mstill I am wrestling.
God, I've got this, this, this,this.
What do you want me to do?
What do you want me to do?
And that was always my questionwhat do you want me to do?
And I'll never forget it.
Just this whisper and that'sscriptural too, obviously this
whisper saying I've already toldyou what to do.
And I'm like crap, that was theto-do list.
(19:08):
I've already told you what Iwant you to do, and I knew what
that meant.
So my wife and I talked aboutit more.
We get back from our time, fromthere and guess what happens?
We get back into our humanrhythm and I'm like, no, you
still got to show me.
You got to.
You know?
I don't know what.
I don't even know what I wasexpecting him to show me.
I don't know if it was like a,this windfall of donations to
(19:30):
say, hey, start this thing.
But it it wasn't.
It was a couple, I don't know,maybe two, three weeks after
that I walked into the doors atWCC and I stopped.
I walked into the doors at WCCand I stopped.
So there's two sets of doorsand right before you get into
(19:52):
the main lobby area, I stoppedin the vestibule area and I just
started crying and I knew thatwas it and I'm getting.
Yeah, I'll never forget that.
All of that came back.
I've told you what to do.
And I went upstairs, I wrote myresignation letter.
No clue what was next.
(20:12):
Zero.
I work for a church.
There's no pension, there's noon-ramp there, but had a lot of
support from the church to moveforward.
But had a lot of support fromthe church to move forward.
And I remember calling my wifeand saying I'm writing it, she
goes.
Okay, I mean it was.
And again.
(20:33):
I think he had us unified butgoing back, it was the
relationships that started thejourney, and then it was the
willingness to say yes and we'reno.
I mean, just because we say yes, what doesn't mean we're any
different.
It's I say it to encouragesomebody else that, man, if
(20:54):
you're struggling with sayingyes, struggle with what it is to
say no or not say anything atall Because man, there is that I
don't know we've seen blessingafter blessing, after blessing
from that.
Or not say anything at allBecause man there is that I
don't know.
You know we've seen blessingafter blessing after blessing
from that and I'm not sayingmonetary blessings we have we
(21:16):
look at what the organizationand how many people that it's
helping now.
Yeah, I didn't know that I wasgoing to get into this, but we
have a beautiful six-year-oldbecause of it that we adopted
when she was, oh gosh, fourmonths old from the shelter.
(21:43):
You just never know what a yesto what God's got you doing can
be, can turn into.
And yeah, and just yeah.
I don't even know what else tosay about that.
It's just, if you're in thatmoment, man, and you're
struggling with taking that nextstep, that's what he asked us
(22:06):
to do.
He asked us to get dirty.
That's the life we're supposedto live, we're supposed to be
with each other in relationshipsand, yeah, that's so.
We come out of that and we arewhere we're at today.
I mean, it's not that therehasn't been struggle.
There's been a lot of struggle.
Part of that is what's ourcommunity going to say?
(22:27):
I mean, we had so manyindividuals that were naysayers
in what we wanted to do.
We live in a heavily religiouscommunity, a heavy religious
community, and there are peoplethat we don't have this here.
There aren't people in needhere, there's people in need
everywhere, um, and but whatI'll say on the other side of
(22:50):
that is it's been a wonderfulthing with our community too,
because our community has justraised up and been so supportive
, not just of FM, but even the,just the people that we serve
and the people in our communitythat are in need.
So, um, that just came througheducation, and he used us to do
that as well.
So there's, you know, it's justnot starting.
(23:11):
Then it's all the other thingsthat come with it, and you know,
being part of the community,that may not see what we see,
and we, you know you need toeducate.
So you bear all that weight aswell.
But, yeah, overall it's allthis stuff has just been awesome
when we, when we were able torelinquish our wants and needs
(23:35):
and control over the situationto what he wanted, and I think
that's that's what led us out ofthat, led me out of that time
where I'm just questioning and Iquestion myself as well Can I
actually do this, can I lead?
And it's not like I'm no betterthan anybody else, it's just
(23:56):
something that he lit a fire inme to do and my wife to do, and
it's not rocket science tofollow him and to do what he
wants you to do and to loveothers well.
And so, yeah, that's just whatwe do.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
So how long was that crucible season?
I mean, is there a time thatyou could point to, that you
were able to look back andreflect on all that had been
done?
And now you feel like, okay,you emerge, you're out of that
season.
Maybe you've entered adifferent one or a different
crucible, but you've come out ofthat one.
Was there a length of time thatyou can recall?
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I wish I could say man, it's been two, three years,
but I think what he's done ishe's done little ones right.
It was our move up here.
Then it was the well, actuallygoing on missions that was a
step out for me.
And then starting fellowshipmissions, and now we've ventured
into several different things,with the recovery and the mental
(24:58):
health, and then the adoptionof our six-year-old, all these
things.
I'd say the adoption was not amoment, that was very quick.
We were both on board realquick.
But with the change to FM, Imean it was two, three months
really wrestling.
But I'd say, if I narrowed thatdown, there was a month of me
(25:21):
just really wrestling because Istarted weighing out.
Okay, I'm sitting here in myoffice but all this other stuff
is weighing on me.
God, what's going on?
I, you know, help me understand, um, what, what this next thing
looks like.
And I just it was, you know,reading with the thorn in your
side, and that was the thorn inmy side at that moment and I
(25:44):
couldn't shake it.
And and finally, until Ireleased it right, and until I
finally let go of of the thingsthat I was holding on to, I
always look at it as the callingof the first disciples.
You know what are the netswe're holding onto.
So what were nets did I have tolet go of to do that and that
was a heavy month for me.
(26:04):
But if I had to put a timelineto it, that's about what it was.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Yeah well, the cool thing about that, though, is
that each of those smallercrucibles were preparatory steps
, and we had that similar typething happen in our lives before
we were able to say yes to thecall to move our family halfway
around the world to go to thePapua New Guinea the jungle call
to move our family, you know,halfway around the world to go
to the Papua New Guinea thejungle.
You know, if we hadn't hadthose crucible preparatory
(26:30):
seasons of life, we wouldn'thave been in a position to say
yes, or even perhaps even hearfrom God on that.
You know, and so hopefullythat's an encouragement to
people that each of thosedifficult seasons, or those
challenges, or we're stretchedor where the heat's cranked up,
it's all for our good and it'sall for a purpose.
(26:50):
And I want to go back tosomething you said, a couple of
the foundational scriptures forleaders on fire.
One of them is Ephesians 2.10.
And this idea that we are God'smasterpiece and he's curated in
advance good works for us to do, and when we put our faith in
Jesus and we say yes to him, wecan live and walk in those works
.
Now you said something else thatreminded me of Ephesians 3.20.
(27:13):
You said he's done more than wecould.
I can't remember your exactwords, but he's blown us away.
He's blessed us with more thanwe can imagine, not monetarily,
but just overall, an abundanceof joy and blessing and the
fruit.
And Ephesians 3.20 says he'lldo immeasurably more than all
you can ask, think or imagine,according to the power of Christ
(27:34):
that's at work within us.
And so when we understand thatwe've created a masterpiece and
that we've got good works thathe's prepared in advance for us
to do, and we say yes, he's ableto do immeasurably more, you
know, than what all we can think, ask or imagine, and I can
relate to that.
Similarly, like when we said yesto go to Papua New Guinea, like
we did not know what that meant.
We really had no idea what wasbefore us.
(27:56):
We'd never been there before,we hadn't been involved in
tribal church planning ormissions, really, for that
matter.
We've been on one missions tripbefore, that you know.
And so I think this idea of I'mglad you brought it up and you
stated it that way of of sayingyes, and you were in that
struggle, and I love the factthat you were in that Adirondack
chair and the whisper that cameand you were.
You know, you were probablyeven expecting for some
(28:19):
incredible revelation of like,ah, that's it, and I know
exactly what I'm going to do,and he says I've already told
you.
I've already told you thatprobably sucked.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
It did.
It did Because it's like, okay,you're just telling me to say
yes, but what am I saying yes to?
Right, it's still not that plan.
And that's what I love aboutthat scripture that he's created
us for good works that he'splanned.
So my background I want theblueprint.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
I want that whole blueprint.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
I want to be able to flip through it, which we have
it in the Bible, but it's still.
I mean you gotta just sayingyes can unlock all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
That had to have been super challenging for you.
Yeah, because of that, becauseyou are a planned follower and
it's black and white and you'vegot to follow it to a T, right,
and so you're ready for yourmarching orders.
But he said it's a white canvas.
I'm just asking you to say yesto this over here, and I'm not
going to actually show you allthe details yet, perhaps because
you might've said no if you'dhave known all the details and
something I've shared withpeople before.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
It's so freeing when you say yes.
It's like holy cow, wait aminute, it's not about me, it's
about him and he's going toguide me.
I still have a lot ofresponsibility, a lot of things
to do, but, man, I will say thatWith the hard times, it's been
freeing, knowing that we're inhis will and moving in his
(29:41):
direction.
Now you still get caught upsometimes in your own junk.
I mean that happens and so youknow we pay for that those times
.
But man, it's so much morefreeing when you can say yes and
do it his way.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yeah, well, man, thank you for being faithful for
you and Tammy and for giving ussomething to talk about, and
hopefully it's a story thatinspires people that are
listening and those that are ina crucible moment and are
struggling to know that there ishope and that it is for a
purpose and that sometimes Godis leaving you in that crucible
until, like you said, you eitherlet go of the nets and you say
(30:18):
yes, and he's going to keep youin that tension, sometimes for
as long as you want to be inthere, until you let go, right,
yeah, and he's patient with that.
So, thank you for all thatyou've done.
Thank you for what you're doingthrough Fellowship, mission and
how God is using you guys.
And, yeah, thanks for coming onthe show and being vulnerable
and sharing with us.
Man Dude, thanks for having me.
It's been fun, awesome manThanks.
(30:43):
Thank you for listening totoday's episode.
Perhaps it has prompted apainful memory or challenged you
to reflect on times you were inthe crucible.
Some of you may be in acrucible now, but be encouraged.
Maybe, just maybe, god is usingthis to refine your character
so that you emerge as a leaderon fire.
(31:04):
If today's episode was anencouragement to you.
Share it with others, who mayalso find encouragement in the
Leaders on Fire podcast.
So let's go into the world sentout as leaders on fire.
Until next time, thank you.
This is the Leaders on Fire podcast.
On this show, we'll be invitingguests in to talk about
crucible moments in their livesand unpack how it developed
character and perseverance andhow they emerged as leaders on
fire.
We hope that this podcast is anencouragement and an
inspiration to you.
Today we have in the studioEric Lane.
(00:25):
He is the founder and executivedirector of Fellowship Missions
.
It's a nonprofit right here inWarsaw, indiana, and they focus
on homelessness and addictionrecovery.
Man.
They are doing some reallygreat things.
I'm excited to hear from Erictoday and hear about some of his
crucible moments that haveshaped his leadership.
Of his crucible moments thathave shaped his leadership.
Eric, welcome to the Leaders onFire podcast.
(00:48):
How are you doing today, manGood?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
man, Appreciate you having me on and yeah, look
forward to this.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
It's going to be fun.
Yeah, man.
Well, I'm super pumped to haveyou.
I know a little bit of yourstory.
We go back a little ways.
I don't remember when it was,maybe what mid-200, 2005,
somewhere in there, 2003.
I don't remember.
But I first met you when youwere project superintendent for
the Warsaw Community ChurchProject.
You weren't staff at WCC, youwere with the contractor that
they'd hired overseeing theproject.
(01:13):
So it'll be interesting to hearhow you got from there to where
you are today as executivedirector and founder of
Fellowship Missions.
So tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So yeah, I mean, I'll just start there my background
commercial construction, projectmanagement and architecture.
I grew up in a family ofcontractors.
My dad was a contractor and so,yeah, when you and I met back
in 04 and 05, that's what I wasdoing was project manager,
construction project manager,building WCC, and it was
(01:48):
interesting in that season oflife.
That's what brought us toWarsaw.
I mean, that was kind of thatfirst step for God moving us
around a little bit.
And yeah, it was just that'swho I am, is that construction
guy.
That's in my blood.
But also, probably the mostimportant part about me is
(02:09):
husband to Tammy Lane and fatherto Brooke Brayden and Lily Lane
.
So we've got three kids Now.
We have a son-in-law, adaughter-in-law and we have a
grandson, liam with Braden andLiza's, and we have one that
will be coming in November thatwe'll know here soon if it's a
(02:31):
boy or a girl.
So yeah, we're really excitedabout that.
But yeah, originally fromMuncie, indiana, spent less than
half of our lives there.
So now we've been up here inthe Warsaw area.
But yeah, we just that's who.
We are A very family orientedcouple, so do a lot of stuff
(02:53):
with family, but yeah, we just,we love this area.
But that's how we got here, man, it was working construction
and we did.
We literally fell in love withthis area and that's what made
the decision.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
So were you living in Muncie at the time.
Yeah, living in Muncie, andthen you had this project for
Worslaw Community Church and soyou were commuting or were you
staying up here for the project.
Very little, I mean it was nice.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Two hour, a little over two hour commute one way
every day, so it was four hourcommute.
So it was a four-hour commute,so it gave me time to ramp up
and then also it gave me ade-escalation time on the way
home.
Very few times did I stay uphere overnight, but yeah, I just
fell in love with the familyfeel of this community.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Awesome man.
Well, tell us a little bitabout your journey.
So we lit the fire, got to knowyou a little bit.
Now I'm going to start fanningthe flame and we're going to
work towards getting deeper here.
But you know, I wanted to findout a little bit more about what
happened, like what hooks, thehook line and sinker that got
(03:55):
you to Warsaw.
So we know it was the projectat Warsaw Community Church, but
when did you move here and whatdid you do?
Did you stay in construction ordid you make some sort of a
shift?
And what happened between thereand fellowship missions?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
So interesting time.
We were the constructioncompany I was actually working
for had actually come to me andsat down and said, hey, we're
going to open an office down inCarmel, indiana, and had
proposed a job down there.
So we were actually I don'tknow how serious we were at that
(04:28):
time, but we were talking aboutit.
I don't remember it because wedidn't talk about it long, but
not too long after that, dennyand Rich Haddad had actually
approached me and said hey, wewould love for you to come on
staff and kind of be ourfacilities and event operations
guy.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Of course they were, and they probably said hey, you
know what?
We're going to give you a raisetoo.
Oh yeah, that was it.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, it came with a lot of dollar signs, you know,
but it was just so interestingbecause not too long before that
I feel, you know, when my wifeshe's not one to really make
quick decisions and I am, so wehave to definitely balance each
other out and I know I alwaysknow when she's ready to do that
(05:11):
.
I know God's using her to speakto me and he's got us unified.
But they came to me and madethis offer and I went back to
her and I believe it was acouple of weeks two, three weeks
before that we'd had a tour ofthe building and we'd gone to
church they were hosting churchat Lakeview Middle School at
that time and we'd gone tochurch and then we had this big
(05:33):
open house at the building.
It was nowhere near completionand just got to know more people
.
And after that, I'll neverforget, my wife got in the car,
she shut the door and she goesif you get a job opportunity up
here, I'm ready to move.
And I'm like hold on,something's happening.
I'm like all right, becauseDenny you know Denny's was I'd
(05:56):
started riding bikes with him onthe trails and he'd always
teased about if we'd come uphere.
And it wasn't long after that,the offer was there and I didn't
have to hesitate.
We were like, yeah, we're ready.
And then I had to tell my bossat Aspen Group that, hey, we're
going to end up doing this andthey allowed me to close out the
building because literally theday I stopped working at Aspen
(06:21):
Group, the next day was thefirst Sunday of the building and
I went to work.
I get goosebumps about it now soit was awesome, so it was a
quick transition and our lifehas been like that in many ways.
When God has us both unified,they're very quick decisions.
(06:42):
Unified, they're very quickdecisions and my wife will
always.
We both talk about it, but shesays you know the power of a yes
and what that can do and youknow, yeah, so that's just been
our life.
When we say yes, it's we justhold on and see what God does.
It's been cool.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Man, that's crazy.
Yeah, I do vaguely rememberseeing Eric Lane as kind of the
superintendent of the Aspengroup because I was involved at
WCC just volunteering and doingthe worship team and different
things like that, and supportersof their campaign.
And then next thing you knowI'm seeing you every weekend on
a Sunday up there.
I'm like okay, what's happeninghere?
And then find out that you gotrecruited away from Aspen during
(07:22):
that project and now you're onstaff at WCC.
Now how long were you on staffthere?
Five years.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
It was great experience and again, another
chapter and also another pivotalpoint that brought us to where
we're at now.
I got exposed to Katrina, theaftermath of Katrina, and
started going down there, Endedup leading close to seven trips
through WCC doing that.
(07:49):
And then it was funny, my wifeand I were sitting at home one
night and man, I'm just, I'mloving it because one
construction love that and lovepeople.
So I'm like this is like mywheelhouse.
Okay, god, what are you doing?
What are you doing?
And she looked at me one nightand she goes we're not moving to
Mississippi, are we?
I was like wait, I said I don'tknow, but I don't think so
right now.
It's just the way he's moved inour lives.
(08:11):
But that's what got meconnected in the church, but not
in my role at the church,started getting me connected in
other ways and again just sayingyes and being vulnerable to say
, yeah, there's individuals thatare hurting, let's go help.
And yeah, that started anotherjourney at WCC.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Yeah.
So kind of tell us the earlyseeds of fellowship missions,
because you were at WCC for fiveyears and I know that we'll
enter the crucible in a littlebit and I know there's a deeper
part to this story, but for nowjust kind of talk about what you
know.
What was that tap on theshoulder?
What was that transition like?
So you're at WCC for five years.
(08:52):
Was it all of a sudden like hey, I'm going to start a homeless
shelter in recovery place foraddicts and for homeless and
we're going to start tomorrow?
Or did it slowly, like were youoverlapping both before you
went full time?
I feel like there was a periodof a couple of years where you
were in both before you wentfull-time.
I don't know how long that was,but kind of just talk about
that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
It was actually pretty quick.
It was just several monthsactually, and there was overlap,
so we were doing both andyou're right, there is that tap
on the shoulder moment and,without getting too deep into
that, it was is really that, um,for us, james two, 14 through
17,.
You know faith and deeds andthere's a lot of needs out there
(09:31):
and we have so many resources,and for us to say, hey, go, be
warm and well fed and do nothingabout it.
Just, just, it was the thorn inmy side and that's kind of
again being very brief about it.
Um, that's what kind of led usto the decision that we made to
start Fellowship Mission.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
The awareness must have come through some sort of
exposure, like how did you knowthere was a need?
Because for God to tap you onthe shoulder, you had to have
some awareness or an exposure toa problem.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Yeah, so the season before that so December 2009 and
January, february, march of2010, there was actually a
shelter that was shared betweenthree different agencies or
three different churchesactually, ours happened to be
one of them and I went to Dennyand Rich said, hey, as far as
(10:21):
number-wise, we're the largestchurch in the community.
We need to be a part of this,and how are we going to serve
people in our community in thiscapacity?
And they said, yeah, go for it.
Like I have no idea what we'regoing to do.
So we held a meeting one night.
There was a church that washosting it in December, and then
we were going to take January,and then another church in
February, and then we ended uphosting again in March.
(10:42):
We went one night and had ameeting with anybody who's
interested in volunteering, andwe had all of our volunteers one
night in January.
And really how God startedworking on us is we got to know
the individuals that were comingin.
The very first night we hadMike we called him Little Mike
(11:06):
and then two Steves.
One of the Steves has actuallyhe passed away probably five
years ago, and then the otherone just texted me a couple
nights ago.
He's now living in Kentucky,which is really cool.
He's now a grandpa down there.
But it was just about gettingto know people, getting to hear
their stories, getting to knowthem on a very personal level,
(11:27):
what makes them tick, puttingpuzzles together, playing
basketball in the back parkinglot, just sitting down having
meals, and that's what reallystarted to move our hearts.
There was one other moment thatthe very first night that we
hosted, that next morning wewould take the guys over to
(11:50):
McDonald's and usually buy themsomething to eat.
And then you know, kind ofbecause it wasn't a day, it was
just overnight, 7 pm to like 7am because we were hosting in
the bottom of the offices at thechurch.
And I remember taking thosethree guys and I'll never forget
where we sat, the booth, and toour left was the drive-thru.
There was a window to thedrive-thru and I remember
(12:14):
sitting and watching peopleactually sidestep our table.
Because if you were going tostereotype people someone who
doesn't have a home and thatcould live on the streets, it
would have been those three guys, three beautiful guys, but you
would have done that and Iwatched people sidestep our
table.
I mean they literally wentaround to go out the door.
That was a couple booths behindus and I remember in that moment
(12:37):
, god hitting me.
It wasn't a two-by-four moment,it was a four-by-four moment
going how many times have youdone that?
And I've learned since then.
I didn't think.
I mean, we are all God'schildren, created in his image,
no different.
We're all have differentcircumstances, but not created
any different.
And how dare you, how manytimes have you done this and how
(12:59):
dare you do that?
And really opened my eyes and Ihad no idea what was going on
then.
I mean, it wrecked me thatmorning.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Wow, sounds like a familiar story out of the
gospels, doesn't it A little bit?
Yeah, okay, are you gettingwarmed up?
You feeling warmed up here?
Let's do it All right.
Well, we're going to crank upthe heat and enter the crucible.
So, yeah, let's talk about acrucible moment in your life,
and I'm assuming that it has todo with the transition into
(13:29):
fellowship missions.
And having known just a littlebit of your story and
interacting over the years, Iknow that launching a nonprofit
in and of itself can bechallenging.
What you set out to do wasincredibly challenging and I
know that there was an enormousamount of time and sweat and
tears and stress and a lot ofthings that went along with the
(13:54):
beautiful outcome that we seetoday and that we've seen along
the way.
And so people from the outsidelooking in go oh, look at this
wonderful little ministry andall the things they're doing
there.
But, man, behind the curtain,there is a lot that's been going
on and a lot of that you'vecarried on your shoulders.
Now you've got an amazing teamand you've had support and team
along the way, but I know it'snot been an easy journey.
(14:17):
So there's probably a lot tounpack in the whole story of
fellowship missions, but pick acrucible moment or one or two
that you really feel like mightbe an encouragement to those
listening about perseveringthrough the hard stuff,
persevering through the cruciblemoments so that you can emerge
with refined character and as aleader on fire.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Getting to where we're at now.
Again, this is all God's.
We've been blessed to be a partof this journey, but how it all
started was actually what I wasjust sharing earlier about
getting exposed to it, right,and then seeing a need in our
community.
Then what's next, right?
Then it's the wrestling going.
(15:00):
Okay, god, what do you wantdone?
Give me the to-do list and I'llgo do it.
Well, that's not exactly how itworks, as you know.
So you know I'm waiting, god.
Yeah, I'm ready, I'll do this.
Just give me the list, give meall of this.
And so, during this time, weactually at the end of March of
(15:23):
2010,.
We're like, where are thesegentlemen going?
We actually had nine guysinside the church offices at
that moment and we're like, okay, this can't be all that it is.
And again, there's resourcesall around us.
So I actually went to one ofthe staff members at WCC.
I knew he had a rental home andI said, hey, joe got a question
(15:47):
, would you and your wifeconsider renting this home?
And he said for what?
And I said, well, we need aplace for these guys.
And so came back a couple ofdays later.
Luckily, it was three daysbefore we were supposed to end
in March, and he said, yeah,we'd love to Gave us the price,
we'd love to Gave us the price.
And we're like, all right,we're going to do it.
I had no idea what was going tohappen, or we just knew okay,
god's stirring us to keep movingforward.
(16:08):
So April 1st comes it wasn't anApril Fool's joke we moved
seven of the nine guys into thishouse and I mean it was total
animal house kind of look, youknow, the picnic table for a
dining room table, all of this.
And then it's kind of like okay, so we have these guys, they
(16:30):
have a safe roof over their head, but there's gotta be more.
So then it start this wholeprocess.
We're going through the bookExperiencing God by.
Blackaby.
It was actually my third timegoing through this book, so I
must have needed it quite a bit.
And our small group at onepoint in time actually had a
intervention with me and my wifeand we started into the book
(16:54):
one group time and they allclosed and said hey, we're
praying for you guys, we see itin you.
What's going on and what'sinteresting is the other three
couples all worked at WCC.
One of the members of thecouple worked at WCC and then my
wife and I we went, and so I'mwrestling every single day.
Okay, god, just give me theto-do list, and he's not.
(17:14):
What year was this?
This was 2010.
Okay, so he's not giving it tome, my wife's giving me.
I mean, we're both in sync.
Okay, she's giving meencouraging scriptures every day
.
We're talking about it.
We go away to a pastor's retreatin Holmes County, ohio, middle
(17:36):
of Amish country, beautiful area, and I don't know, man, it's
just, I wanted everything niceand tidy.
You've got a house, you've gota car, you've got these things
right.
I mean, you've been there, donethat and it's like, how does
this work?
I'm willing to do it, but Ineed something, god, from you,
(17:58):
and it's not how it reallyworked out, but it did work out
that way actually.
And so we go away to HolmesCounty and I think this was a
very pivotal moment for mepersonally.
We go away, we have all of ourcouple's time together, but
there was one day we went awayand they made us go separate.
(18:20):
So the whole morning we wentour own direction and then came
back at lunchtime and there werea couple Adirondack chairs down
in this little ravine thatlooked into a woods and I don't
know that I've ever heard Godwell, I'd have never really
heard him speak audibly throughpeople, you know, through the
spirit, and but I've neveraudibly until this moment.
(18:43):
And I'm sitting there and I'mstill I am wrestling.
God, I've got this, this, this,this.
What do you want me to do?
What do you want me to do?
And that was always my questionwhat do you want me to do?
And I'll never forget it.
Just this whisper and that'sscriptural too, obviously this
whisper saying I've already toldyou what to do.
And I'm like crap, that was theto-do list.
(19:08):
I've already told you what Iwant you to do, and I knew what
that meant.
So my wife and I talked aboutit more.
We get back from our time, fromthere and guess what happens?
We get back into our humanrhythm and I'm like, no, you
still got to show me.
You got to.
You know?
I don't know what.
I don't even know what I wasexpecting him to show me.
I don't know if it was like a,this windfall of donations to
(19:30):
say, hey, start this thing.
But it it wasn't.
It was a couple, I don't know,maybe two, three weeks after
that I walked into the doors atWCC and I stopped.
I walked into the doors at WCCand I stopped.
So there's two sets of doorsand right before you get into
(19:52):
the main lobby area, I stoppedin the vestibule area and I just
started crying and I knew thatwas it and I'm getting.
Yeah, I'll never forget that.
All of that came back.
I've told you what to do.
And I went upstairs, I wrote myresignation letter.
No clue what was next.
(20:12):
Zero.
I work for a church.
There's no pension, there's noon-ramp there, but had a lot of
support from the church to moveforward.
But had a lot of support fromthe church to move forward.
And I remember calling my wifeand saying I'm writing it, she
goes.
Okay, I mean it was.
And again.
(20:33):
I think he had us unified butgoing back, it was the
relationships that started thejourney, and then it was the
willingness to say yes and we'reno.
I mean, just because we say yes, what doesn't mean we're any
different.
It's I say it to encouragesomebody else that, man, if
(20:54):
you're struggling with sayingyes, struggle with what it is to
say no or not say anything atall Because man, there is that I
don't know we've seen blessingafter blessing, after blessing
from that.
Or not say anything at allBecause man there is that I
don't know.
You know we've seen blessingafter blessing after blessing
from that and I'm not sayingmonetary blessings we have we
(21:16):
look at what the organizationand how many people that it's
helping now.
Yeah, I didn't know that I wasgoing to get into this, but we
have a beautiful six-year-oldbecause of it that we adopted
when she was, oh gosh, fourmonths old from the shelter.
(21:43):
You just never know what a yesto what God's got you doing can
be, can turn into.
And yeah, and just yeah.
I don't even know what else tosay about that.
It's just, if you're in thatmoment, man, and you're
struggling with taking that nextstep, that's what he asked us
(22:06):
to do.
He asked us to get dirty.
That's the life we're supposedto live, we're supposed to be
with each other in relationshipsand, yeah, that's so.
We come out of that and we arewhere we're at today.
I mean, it's not that therehasn't been struggle.
There's been a lot of struggle.
Part of that is what's ourcommunity going to say?
(22:27):
I mean, we had so manyindividuals that were naysayers
in what we wanted to do.
We live in a heavily religiouscommunity, a heavy religious
community, and there are peoplethat we don't have this here.
There aren't people in needhere, there's people in need
everywhere, um, and but whatI'll say on the other side of
(22:50):
that is it's been a wonderfulthing with our community too,
because our community has justraised up and been so supportive
, not just of FM, but even the,just the people that we serve
and the people in our communitythat are in need.
So, um, that just came througheducation, and he used us to do
that as well.
So there's, you know, it's justnot starting.
(23:11):
Then it's all the other thingsthat come with it, and you know,
being part of the community,that may not see what we see,
and we, you know you need toeducate.
So you bear all that weight aswell.
But, yeah, overall it's allthis stuff has just been awesome
when we, when we were able torelinquish our wants and needs
(23:35):
and control over the situationto what he wanted, and I think
that's that's what led us out ofthat, led me out of that time
where I'm just questioning and Iquestion myself as well Can I
actually do this, can I lead?
And it's not like I'm no betterthan anybody else, it's just
(23:56):
something that he lit a fire inme to do and my wife to do, and
it's not rocket science tofollow him and to do what he
wants you to do and to loveothers well.
And so, yeah, that's just whatwe do.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
So how long was that crucible season?
I mean, is there a time thatyou could point to, that you
were able to look back andreflect on all that had been
done?
And now you feel like, okay,you emerge, you're out of that
season.
Maybe you've entered adifferent one or a different
crucible, but you've come out ofthat one.
Was there a length of time thatyou can recall?
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I wish I could say man, it's been two, three years,
but I think what he's done ishe's done little ones right.
It was our move up here.
Then it was the well, actuallygoing on missions that was a
step out for me.
And then starting fellowshipmissions, and now we've ventured
into several different things,with the recovery and the mental
(24:58):
health, and then the adoptionof our six-year-old, all these
things.
I'd say the adoption was not amoment, that was very quick.
We were both on board realquick.
But with the change to FM, Imean it was two, three months
really wrestling.
But I'd say, if I narrowed thatdown, there was a month of me
(25:21):
just really wrestling because Istarted weighing out.
Okay, I'm sitting here in myoffice but all this other stuff
is weighing on me.
God, what's going on?
I, you know, help me understand, um, what, what this next thing
looks like.
And I just it was, you know,reading with the thorn in your
side, and that was the thorn inmy side at that moment and I
(25:44):
couldn't shake it.
And and finally, until Ireleased it right, and until I
finally let go of of the thingsthat I was holding on to, I
always look at it as the callingof the first disciples.
You know what are the netswe're holding onto.
So what were nets did I have tolet go of to do that and that
was a heavy month for me.
(26:04):
But if I had to put a timelineto it, that's about what it was.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Yeah well, the cool thing about that, though, is
that each of those smallercrucibles were preparatory steps
, and we had that similar typething happen in our lives before
we were able to say yes to thecall to move our family halfway
around the world to go to thePapua New Guinea the jungle call
to move our family, you know,halfway around the world to go
to the Papua New Guinea thejungle.
You know, if we hadn't hadthose crucible preparatory
(26:30):
seasons of life, we wouldn'thave been in a position to say
yes, or even perhaps even hearfrom God on that.
You know, and so hopefullythat's an encouragement to
people that each of thosedifficult seasons, or those
challenges, or we're stretchedor where the heat's cranked up,
it's all for our good and it'sall for a purpose.
(26:50):
And I want to go back tosomething you said, a couple of
the foundational scriptures forleaders on fire.
One of them is Ephesians 2.10.
And this idea that we are God'smasterpiece and he's curated in
advance good works for us to do, and when we put our faith in
Jesus and we say yes to him, wecan live and walk in those works
.
Now you said something else thatreminded me of Ephesians 3.20.
(27:13):
You said he's done more than wecould.
I can't remember your exactwords, but he's blown us away.
He's blessed us with more thanwe can imagine, not monetarily,
but just overall, an abundanceof joy and blessing and the
fruit.
And Ephesians 3.20 says he'lldo immeasurably more than all
you can ask, think or imagine,according to the power of Christ
(27:34):
that's at work within us.
And so when we understand thatwe've created a masterpiece and
that we've got good works thathe's prepared in advance for us
to do, and we say yes, he's ableto do immeasurably more, you
know, than what all we can think, ask or imagine, and I can
relate to that.
Similarly, like when we said yesto go to Papua New Guinea, like
we did not know what that meant.
We really had no idea what wasbefore us.
(27:56):
We'd never been there before,we hadn't been involved in
tribal church planning ormissions, really, for that
matter.
We've been on one missions tripbefore, that you know.
And so I think this idea of I'mglad you brought it up and you
stated it that way of of sayingyes, and you were in that
struggle, and I love the factthat you were in that Adirondack
chair and the whisper that cameand you were.
You know, you were probablyeven expecting for some
(28:19):
incredible revelation of like,ah, that's it, and I know
exactly what I'm going to do,and he says I've already told
you.
I've already told you thatprobably sucked.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
It did.
It did Because it's like, okay,you're just telling me to say
yes, but what am I saying yes to?
Right, it's still not that plan.
And that's what I love aboutthat scripture that he's created
us for good works that he'splanned.
So my background I want theblueprint.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
I want that whole blueprint.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
I want to be able to flip through it, which we have
it in the Bible, but it's still.
I mean you gotta just sayingyes can unlock all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
That had to have been super challenging for you.
Yeah, because of that, becauseyou are a planned follower and
it's black and white and you'vegot to follow it to a T, right,
and so you're ready for yourmarching orders.
But he said it's a white canvas.
I'm just asking you to say yesto this over here, and I'm not
going to actually show you allthe details yet, perhaps because
you might've said no if you'dhave known all the details and
something I've shared withpeople before.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
It's so freeing when you say yes.
It's like holy cow, wait aminute, it's not about me, it's
about him and he's going toguide me.
I still have a lot ofresponsibility, a lot of things
to do, but, man, I will say thatWith the hard times, it's been
freeing, knowing that we're inhis will and moving in his
(29:41):
direction.
Now you still get caught upsometimes in your own junk.
I mean that happens and so youknow we pay for that those times
.
But man, it's so much morefreeing when you can say yes and
do it his way.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yeah, well, man, thank you for being faithful for
you and Tammy and for giving ussomething to talk about, and
hopefully it's a story thatinspires people that are
listening and those that are ina crucible moment and are
struggling to know that there ishope and that it is for a
purpose and that sometimes Godis leaving you in that crucible
until, like you said, you eitherlet go of the nets and you say
(30:18):
yes, and he's going to keep youin that tension, sometimes for
as long as you want to be inthere, until you let go, right,
yeah, and he's patient with that.
So, thank you for all thatyou've done.
Thank you for what you're doingthrough Fellowship, mission and
how God is using you guys.
And, yeah, thanks for coming onthe show and being vulnerable
and sharing with us.
Man Dude, thanks for having me.
It's been fun, awesome manThanks.
(30:43):
Thank you for listening totoday's episode.
Perhaps it has prompted apainful memory or challenged you
to reflect on times you were inthe crucible.
Some of you may be in acrucible now, but be encouraged.
Maybe, just maybe, god is usingthis to refine your character
so that you emerge as a leaderon fire.
(31:04):
If today's episode was anencouragement to you.
Share it with others, who mayalso find encouragement in the
Leaders on Fire podcast.
So let's go into the world sentout as leaders on fire.
Until next time, thank you.
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