Becoming An Enabler (1 of 3)

December 14th, 2007 by Jaybrams

As of yesterday at about 9:15 PM, school for this semester is over. I flew through my final oral presentation… I’m not sure I breathed in the 7 minutes I was doing my thing… I guess it’s a bit of a nervous habit, but I don’t generally *feel* nervous… It usually happens when I feel like there is a lot to say and I have to get it said in a specific time frame. If I had the floor for 30 minutes, I might’ve slowed down. It was fun though.

So, going to a Christian College, a question comes up in discussion multiple times in a semester. No less than seven times in 3.5 classes by three professors and four students I have been asked “What’s your major?” followed immediately by “What do you plan on doing when you’re done?” …

It’s a tough question to answer. I have ideas, but nothing solid. Sometimes I have passions for a very specific vocation, other times I am tossed to-and-fro between a small handful of options. Last night, though, I think I finally found the right answer…

I want to be an enabler.

Last night wasn’t the first time I’ve said this, it’s just the first time I used it to answer that specific question.

en•a•ble: 1. to make able; give power, means, competence, or ability to; authorize (from dictionary.com)
enabler: one that enables another to achieve an end; especially : one who enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior (as substance abuse) by providing excuses or by helping that individual avoid the consequences of such behavior (from Merriam-Webster Online)

-Okay, so throw out commonly used term of someone who enables another to continue in a destructive manner, and this is who I want to be. -

God has enabled us to accomplish the work that He has set us to do… lead people to place of seeing Christ as their loving, merciful saviour and, after the Holy Spirit does the work, continuing the process by leading others into a life of discipleship (Matthew 28:18-20) . Through the enabling power of Christ, I hope to enable those who may already be traveling the road of discipleship for the work that God has laid on their hearts.

I’ll anticipate your follow up question of “What do you mean by that exactly as it relates to ministry?” and give you an answer next post on the subject.

( I was going to post this all at once, but it kept growing… it’s friday and I know you don’t want to read yet another 2000 word essay on my website, so you’ll just have to wait with anticipation if you’re really that interested.)

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