Energized for God's Mission by Dr. Duane Brown
Read Colossians 1:24-2:5
Begin by reading the passage in Colossians I have named that corresponds to this devotional. As you read especially take note of the many times Paul speaks of the struggle and agony he is experiencing.
For example, Paul writes, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1: 28-29, New International Version).
Paul was in prison when Colossians was written. He was lonely and isolated from the people and work that he loved. He faced agonizing conflicts around what the church believed about the person and work of Jesus. He longed for lost people to find salvation through Jesus Christ.
If you are a church leader, you understand a life of struggle and even agony. The enemy likes to stir up trouble especially as the church tries to stay focused on finding and making fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Someone once said, “There ain’t no mess like a church mess!”
Despite Paul’s setbacks, he stayed on mission, and we can, too. Paul kept going because he was energized by the Holy Spirit. How do we stay plugged in to the Holy Spirit? It is a minute-by-minute obedience to God’s will in every area of life.

Recently, I spent my lunch time with a senior leader in our organization. It was one of the best working lunches I’ve had in a long time. In fact, I can’t remember a time like this, when someone above me poured into me. For too many of us, times spent with senior leaders are filled with anxiety. Or, we're beaten down afterward and feel like in order to get clean from the experience, we need to take a long, hot shower. Please! For your sake, and the sake of your team, learn from what I am sharing and put some of these into practice the next opportunity you have to pour into your team. 1. He gave me his full time and attention. He didn’t check his phone (or Apple watch) the entire time we met. No blurting sounds either, to interrupt our lunch. In fact, I didn’t know he had a phone. He listened intently to what I had to say. He asked follow-up questions often. He looked me in the eyes often when he spoke to me, which said to me he had just the right amount of self-confidence. 2. He bought me lunch. That is kindness in action, since I invited him to lunch and was profuse in my attempts to buy him lunch. 3. He offered up a sum of money to invest in my leadership development. Very impressive. This said to me he not only believed in me as a leader but that he sees a future for me in the organization. When someone does that it causes you to think, “I want to be here for a while.” I came away thinking I have a opportunity to help write our story. 4. He asked about my family. I know there’s debate about how personal you should get with co-workers. But in this instance, man to man, I appreciated his interest how my wife and I were doing with our transition to this new job and how our kids were doing. 5. He challenged me. As he politely inquired about one area of life, I was stuck and he knew it. He politely suggested a reason for this and then challenged me by carefully suggesting a way to become unstuck. Very smart move on his part. Friends, this isn't rocket science here. Life is about making good memories. This was one of them for me. I hope you take steps now to intentionally pour into someone and make a forever positive memory for them.