Here's to #2...

This is a longer post, but stick with me, there's a huge point.



I'm home. It was a great week.

My time in Colorado was spent at Kingdom Building Ministries with Caleb Bislow. Caleb was working through some big stuff. It was basically 2 days of walking through his significant life events to this point, his passions, and his ministry vision. Then considering where he's at now, what's wrong, what's missing, and how to get where God is leading him.

My role (along with Carl Davis and Jessica, Caleb's wife) was to serve as an observers voice... to help Caleb see what he may not be seeing himself.

The 2 days were full of "a-ha" moments for him. There are exciting things ahead for my friend.


I had a huge "a-ha" moment.


Caleb's ministry has been extreme. It includes his trips to Africa, preaching in prisons, witnessing at a Rob Zombie concert, living homeless in Chicago for 2 days, ministering to rival gangs at his youth group, and plenty more to come. He feels a calling to go where other Christian won't go, reach out to the unreachable, and live as an unusual soldier for Christ.

Caleb's ministry has been fruitful. He's seen entire villages come to know Christ. 2 churches have been planted in Maasai villages as a direct result of Caleb's ministry. He mentored a group of students that included a girl so shy she couldn't order at McDonald's. That girl led her homosexual father to Christ 5 months later. One of the gang members Caleb was working with in Michigan accepted Christ. Caleb then took that gang member to juvie where he shared his testimony to his former gangmates. I saw him share the gospel in India where over 50 youth came forward to begin a relationship with Christ.

Caleb has even greater things ahead. He's going to be returning to Africa in 2008 and his first book should be finished before the end of the year.

All this, and he isn't even 30 yet.

So here's my a-ha moment... as I sat in this setting, I saw how important Caleb's "#2" was. Jessica Bislow is a warrior. A true hero. She's unbelievable!
Here's what jumped out to me.

• In their courting phase, Caleb clearly communicated to Jessica the direction of his calling to go to dark and dangerous places. That there was a potential his calling could cost him his life at a young age. Jessica's response... "then I'll make the most of the time God has given me with you."
• While Caleb was in Africa, one night Jessica prayed that an entire village would come to know Christ. Guess what happened that day halfway around the world?
• Jessica made the statement in our time together, "I never want to get in the way of Caleb obeying God?" I'd hope we'd all echo that about our spouse, child or friends. It's pretty easy to say when the person your referring to is saying the feel like God is calling them to teach Sunday School, or maybe spend more time with you... what about when your spouse tells you he senses he supposed to deplete their savings and go by himself to Africa to share with an animistic tribal group who has shown a history of hostility toward Christians. Or when your spouse is sensing he needs to travel to India to share at a camp and your 8 1/2 months pregnant? "I never want to get in the way of Caleb obeying God!" That's what Jessica said.

Jessica Bislow has been God's divine #2 for Caleb Bislow. In fact, is she truly the #2, or is she the #1 right there with Caleb? Or even further, when all is said and done, and Caleb and Jessica stand before Jesus, will he say, "Well done, Caleb... but Jessica it's time to throw a party for you."

Here's to Jessica Bislow and all those other #2's out there. Those who play second fiddle and make the music truly beautiful. Without you, it all falls apart.

Who are your #2s that you need to stop and honor?
Who is God calling you to play #2 to?