Voices of Influence

What are the voices we listen to? All around us there are people, products, organization, communities, media speaking into our lives. Some conscious, some subconscious, some loud and blatant, others subtle and quiet. But what are the ones we listen to? Which have influence and shape how we see ourselves? How we see God? The world?

I would love to say I’m aware of every voice I choose to let impact my life and faith, but that won’t be so honest. But hey, we all have to start somewhere. There have been times in my life, whole seasons, when I was completely unaware of how some voices influenced me and others I simply ignored. Many people experience this and it looks different for everyone. Some in defining their worth, others their aptitude. We listen to voices that tell us we need more stuff. We listen to voices that define happiness. For me, I listened to the ones that told me how I could and couldn’t serve God and the church.

However, for all the voices that limit us or seem to put parameters on our worldview, there are the prophetic voices that speak truth. Some people in our lives point us to a larger picture of God. They invite us to lay down our preconceived notions and trust for something bigger than our current understanding.

What I find funny, is how these voices seem to smack me upside the head. Even when they are consistent, patient, and spoken over time, I don’t understand their depth or magnitude until they wind themselves around my heart and take hold. At least, that was my experience as my worldview towards women in ministry shifted. Dear friends, mentors, pastors and colleagues gently witnessed a larger picture of what it means to have the imago dei, to be an image bearer of Christ. Men and women alike, spoke direct words or gave testimony through their actions of a more complex and diverse understanding of leadership in the church. I am so very grateful for these courageous souls who took the time and loved me enough to push me outside of my lens of interpretation. People who challenged me to see God more clearly. To accept a God who created me to love Him and serve the church as a pastor.

I often wonder where I would be today if I had never heard these voices. If I had chosen to ignore them. Or if their speakers had not been so faithful to witness time and time again. Would I be a pastor? Would I claim my identity and worth as a full image bear of Christ? I share my story and my voice with the chorus of voices that have gone before. Let my experience be one that encourages you to join the choir, to be a voice that invited others to a deeper love and grasp of the Almighty. Let my muffled ears be a testament and spur you to shed any barriers that stands in the way of hearing God. We need voices of truth in this world. We need to grow in our levels of awareness of who and what we listen to. I am thankful for those who spoke truth in my life. I hope to join them and never stop pointing creation towards the Creator.