By Michael McFadden

God has given each one of us the freedom to choose between the world and God’s will. The world consists of popular culture and selfish desires. By far the easiest choice is to conform to the world and selfish desires and the majority do. It is more difficult to seek and choose God’s will.

Since the beginning of time, godly people have chosen selfish desires over God’s will. These godly people include: Adam and Eve, Abraham, God’s chosen people (the Israelites), Samson, King David, and Judas (a disciple of Jesus). The list could go on and on. The godly people of Albuquerque’s First Baptist Church, those serving on the Pastoral Search Committee, and the pastors considering this church are no different than the godly people mentioned time and again in the Bible. We all fall short in consistently choosing God’s will.

The good news is God has provided us an excellent model of one that has chosen His will every time, JESUS.

The Bible provides example after example of Jesus choosing God’s will. When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert, when Jesus was facing cruel punishment and the worst kind of death by crucifixion, Jesus gave us a clear example of how He could choose God’s will. It was through scripture and prayer.

As a church body, we need to follow Jesus’ example of choosing God’s will. Every day we need to seek out scriptures that will guide us in choosing God’s will.  These same scriptures will guide us in choosing a godly pastor (Romans 12:1-2, 1 Timothy 3:2-7). We need to pray daily for discernment between our selfish desires and God’s will.

God has already chosen the next pastor to lead our church through the next phase of His mission. The issue now is the discernment of God’s choice. Remember, God has given us the freedom to choose between our selfish desires and God’s will.

The Pastoral Search Committee needs your help. Jesus spoke “I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19).

• We need you to pray for discernment of the pastors considering our church. We need these pastors to seek God’s will. As a search committee, we only need one applicant and that is the pastor God has chosen.
• We need you to pray for the pastor God has chosen for our church. Pray for God’s chosen pastor to step out of his comfort zone and seek and act on God’s will for his new mission. We need you to pray for his family to step out of their comfort zone and follow God’s new mission in their lives.
• We need you to pray that our committee surrenders to God. Each of us have our own selfish desires. We need your prayers to set our selfish desires aside and seek only God’s will for our next pastor. Pray that we seek God’s will in our selection process, that we have the strength and willpower to stay in scripture and prayer seeking God’s will. Pray that we support each other in our struggles seeking God’s will.
• Pray for the church family at Albuquerque’s First Baptist Church. We need the church body to remain faithful. We need you to pray daily for God’s will be done in the life of His chosen pastor, in the actions of this committee, and, yes, in this church. The church membership is the ultimate decision maker in the selection of the next pastor. Pray that God’s will be done in that selection.