As a 15 year-old, I was not a model Brigader. I went to the weekly Christian Service Brigade* (CSB) meetings because they had some fun activities. Yet, the captain of our unit evidently saw something in me. One night, he asked me if I would be willing serve as a leader in the unit. I took up the challenge and served in that role for three years, learning much about leadership. Even after graduating from the program, I continued to serve as a Lieutenant in the same unit while attending Briercrest Bible College.

How much did CSB impact me? It certainly put me on a trajectory of Christ-centered servant leadership. Yet, perhaps even more importantly, one person, Captain Laurie Winters, believed in me and was willing to take a chance because he saw potential in me. However, the story doesn’t end there. My eldest son has been in the CSB program for the past seven years. This year, his captain (Don Reddick), asked him to be a leader.

People need us to believe in them.

*Christian Service Brigade is a church-based program where Christian men “guide groups of boys through action-packed , action-filled experiences that help them grow closer to God...and equip them to become our leaders of tomorrow” (http://www.csbministries.ca/).

King Saul had a knack for justifying his disobedience. Before attacking the Amalekites, Samuel clearly instructed Saul to destroy the people and their livestock (1 Sam. 15:3). No exceptions. After the battle, Samuel pays Saul a visit amid the bleating and lowing of the captured livestock. Saul justified his actions by saying that they only kept some of the best of the livestock, so that they could offer them as sacrifices to the Lord. Samuel doesn’t buy it.

The pressures of leadership and our desire to keep people happy may tempt us to try to justify our partial obedience. Yet, as we see from the story, partial obedience is disobedience.

When child number four arrived last year, my wife and I decided to do something we had never done before – we bought a jogging stroller. We found a nice used one through friends at our church. For the most part, it does exactly what we hoped. We can take it over rough terrain. I can take my little guy with me when I go for a jog or when I slap on the roller-blades. The only frustrating thing about the stroller is that the front wheel does not pivot. That means that you’re constantly pushing the back wheels to the side or lifting the front wheel up to steer it.

The other day I took junior out for a walk in the rain. With my umbrella in hand, I was left with only one hand to try to steer the jogging stroller. I managed, but something interesting happened when we left the paved path and started to cross a bumpy stretch. I found that the bumps provided a natural lift to the front wheel that made it easier to turn the entire stroller.

Being a seminary professor and former pastor, I couldn’t help but think that there might be a deep theological truth in this phenomenon. I recalled a statement about God’s will that has sometimes guided my thinking and teaching over the years: God can’t steer a ship that’s not moving. The point is that it’s usually good to move in some direction and then allow God to make midcourse corrections as He sees fit. If a ship is not moving, then no amount of steering will make a difference. What struck me as I marveled over the ease of steering the stroller over bumpy terrain was that sometimes we are more open to God’s midcourse corrections when we are going through a bumpy season of life. Perhaps, we’re desperate for God to show up. We know we’re in trouble and realize that we can’t navigate without His help.

As we encounter bumps in life, may they remind us to surrender control to God and to let Him steer us through the challenges.