Wards Road, Lynchburg, VA

Church #181 continues to prove that the Holy Spirit has absolutely no problem finding a sanctuary in the most unusual places.

After three and a half years of this journey, I have worshiped God in beautiful church buildings, living rooms, offices, cemeteries, around kitchen tables, on front porches, while caring for family, and in places I never would have imagined calling “church” when all of this began.

Today, the sanctuary had a buffet because Church #181 happened at Golden Corral.

I had the blessing of spending time with a precious family who recently lost someone they love so dearly, and I was blessed to help with a project where some extra hands and expertise were needed.

There were no pews, no pulpit, no worship team, and I am fairly certain nobody standing near the mashed potatoes and gravy realized a church service was happening right nearby, but I cannot think of a much better one.

I was surrounded by big hearts, good food, laughter, tears, gratitude, and people who love the Lord. If that does not sound like fellowship, I am not sure what does.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, one word kept settling into my heart: Obedience.

This kind of obedience does not make headlines, you can be sure of that. It’s definitely not the kind that comes with applause or recognition. I am talking about the ordinary kind of obedience that simply says, “God, if You want me there, even Golden Corral, I’ll go.”

I think sometimes we make obedience to God wayyyyyy more complicated than it needs to be because we want to know the outcome before we agree to the assignment. We want God to explain where something is going, why He is asking us to do it, what we are going to receive from it, how everything will work out, and preferably give us a detailed itinerary before we say yes.

But that is not really faith. Is it?

Abraham did not receive the entire map when God told him to go. Hebrews 11:8 says that Abraham obeyed and went, “even though he did not know where he was going.” I have always found that totally incredible. He did not know the destination, but he knew to trust that God was giving the directions.

Maybe that is what obedience really is. I don’t know where this is going, Lord, but I know You, so I’ll go.

That shouted to my heart today because so much of my own life right now requires exactly that kind of trust. I do not know how every situation is going to work out. I do not know what God is doing with every prayer I have prayed. I do not know what doors will open, what doors will remain closed, what provision will look like, or what next month will bring.

But I know JESUS.

And after everything He has carried me through, HE IS enough!

James 1:22 tells us not merely to listen to the Word, but to do what it says. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands.” There is action attached to faith. At some point we have to get up from praying about loving people and actually go love somebody!!! Y’all may need to read that one again.

Sometimes obedience means going across the world. Sometimes it means going across town. And sometimes apparently it means going to Golden Corral.

That is something this entire church journey has changed in me. I have stopped believing that ministry has to look impressive. Obeying God IS impressive.

As a matter of fact, I am becoming increasingly suspicious of our obsession with impressive-looking things. Jesus spent so much of His earthly ministry doing things that probably would not have looked particularly impressive to the world. He sat at tables. He ate with people. He touched the sick. He welcomed children. He stopped for people everybody else walked past. He washed feet. The King of Kings got down on the floor and washed dirty feet!!!

Then He told His disciples in John 13:14-15 that He had given them an example to follow.

The highest title in heaven chose the lowest position in the room.

Because after three and a half years and 181 churches, I am still learning. I am still growing. I am still getting things wrong. I am still surrendering things to God and occasionally trying to take them back. I am still learning how to trust without knowing the outcome. I am still learning how to love better. I am still a work in progress.

And perhaps most importantly, I am still just a servant.

I have had different titles throughout my life, and I am grateful for the opportunities God has given me, but the older I get, and the more Jesus changes my heart, the less impressed I am by titles.

There is one title I hope I never outgrow…

SERVANT.

That may be the most important and impressive title I could ever carry, because it is the one Jesus modeled. Mark 10:45 tells us that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”

And since Jesus came to serve, I would never believe serving to be beneath me; it is more like the greatest honor I could ever give someone. Just to be able to serve Jesus.

I do not have much money to give people. There are plenty of times when I wish I could write a check and fix somebody’s problem or even my own problems for that matter. But I am learning that what God asks me most often is to give what is already in my own hands.

That thought takes me back to Moses in Exodus 4. Moses was worried about everything he lacked, and God asked him a wonderfully simple question…

“What is that in your hand?”

A staff.

Nothing particularly impressive. But surrendered to God, that ordinary staff became part of an extraordinary story.

I think we need to ask ourselves the same question. What has God already put in our hands?

Maybe we cannot give money. But can we give an hour? Can we stop and just listen? Can we cook a meal? Can we drive? Can we fix something? Can we sit with someone who is grieving? Can we pray? Can we use our profession to help somebody learn about something they do not understand? Can we give a hug? Can we make somebody laugh on a day when they thought they had forgotten how? Can we simply show up?

We spend so much time looking at what we don’t have that we can completely miss what God has already entrusted to us. And time may be one of the most valuable things we have. Money can be replaced. Time cannot.

When I give somebody an hour or two or three or four of my life, I have given them something I can never earn back. When we sit with grieving people, listen to their memories, cry with them, laugh with them, and praise God alongside them, we are giving something incredibly precious.

We are giving part of our lives.

That is why today meant so much to me.

We laughed together. We cried together. We ate together. We remembered together. We praised God together. And for a little while, whatever else was happening in the world could wait because the people sitting in front of me mattered soooo much more.

Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Today we did both. There was laughter and grief at the same table. Joy and sorrow sat beside one another.

And isn’t that LIFE?

I think sometimes we imagine faith means we have to choose between the two. Either we are grieving or we are grateful. Either we are hurting or we have joy. Either life is difficult or God is good. But I have learned it is so much different. I can cry and still praise Jesus. I can grieve and still laugh. I can have unanswered prayers and still recognize answered ones. I can have absolutely no idea how God is going to work something out and still believe with everything in me that He will be faithful. I can sit at a table with people who have experienced loss and still thank God for the gift of being together.

That is not pretending pain does not HURT. It does.

But my FAITH is bigger than the pain.

And perhaps that is what obedience does. It keeps us moving toward where God is calling us even when we cannot see what He is doing. We show up. We love. We serve. We give what is in our hands. And then we trust God with the rest.

There is another Scripture that has come to mean so much to me through this journey and hard season. First Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

I love that phrase… whatever gift you have received.

God never asked me to give what I do not have. He asks me to surrender what I do. My time. My voice. My experiences. My ability to listen. My hands. My work. My writing. My compassion. My willingness to sit beside somebody when life hurts. Even some of the most broken pieces of my own story can become something God uses to help me recognize the broken heart sitting across the table. Maybe that is why I no longer believe ministry is something we schedule between certain hours on Sunday morning.

Ministry is a life offered to God!!!

Church is not only where we go. Church is what happens when the people of God become the hands and feet of Jesus wherever He sends them.

Sometimes that happens beneath stained glass. Sometimes it happens beside a hospital bed. Sometimes it happens at a graveside. Sometimes it happens in somebody’s living room. Sometimes it happens at work. And apparently sometimes it happens over chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls, and dessert at Golden Corral.

God is GOOD like that.

Three and a half years into this journey, and I certainly do not have Christianity figured out. If anything, following Jesus has made me more aware of how much I still have to learn, just how much I am nothing without Him.

I am still being shaped. I am still being corrected. I am still being stretched. I am still learning that obedience sometimes means going when I would rather stay, stopping when I would rather rush, giving when I feel empty, and trusting when I desperately want answers.

I am still a HUGE work in progress. And I am completely okay with that. Because I would rather spend the rest of my life being shaped by Jesus than ever become convinced that I have nothing else to learn or give.

So today I am thankful. Thankful for this wonderful and loving family I was blessed to be with today. Thankful for laughter that interrupted grief. Thankful for tears that did not need to be hidden. Thankful for food around a table. Thankful for the opportunity to help. Thankful for the resources God has placed in my hands. Thankful that He continues to invite this very imperfect woman to participate in His work.

And thankful that after 181 churches, He is still surprising me with where church can happen. The sermon today was obedience, but maybe the altar call is even simpler, JUST SHOW UP.

When God places someone on your heart, show up. When He gives you an opportunity to serve, show up. When somebody needs what God has placed in your hands, show up. You may not have money. You may not have all the answers. You may not know exactly what to say. But bring what you have. Bring your time. Bring your gifts. Bring your resources. Bring your compassion. Bring your big heart. Bring Jesus with you!!!

And trust Him with what happens next.

Because maybe obedience is not knowing where the road ends. Obedience is loving God enough to take the next step anyway.

Church #181 happened at Golden Corral, surrounded by big hearts, good food, laughter, tears, memories, and gratitude for our Lord and Savior.

And I walked away knowing something I hope I never forget, I do not need an impressive title to do something meaningful for the Kingdom.

Servant will do just fine.

I cannot wait to see where the Holy Spirit leads next, because after three and a half years of following Him into some of the most unexpected sanctuaries imaginable, I already know wherever He leads will be good.

Love you all so very much,

Annie Stewart Lambert