I have been in vocational ministry (meaning they pay me a little) for about 7 years. And, for the last 2 and a half years I have been in full-time vocational ministry. As I have said before, I don’t have formal training in ministry and have had to greatly rely on the Holy Spirit to lead during uncomfortable or new situations, and there have been many.

In the last two years I have: preached my first Sunday morning “big church” message; presided over my first funeral (and my first graveside service in the snow); preformed my first wedding; discipled an excellent young man; led a ministry (and the church during an interim time); planned, promoted, and ran many large community events; been named Garrett Middle School’s volunteer of the year for just showing up to hang out with kids and love on them; and taught the gospel with enthusiasm and passion. All of this, with no formal training, and yet, after every one of the “firsts” I have been complemented on how well I did. Why? Because I know the secret.

The secret is that I have learned to put on the right persona, or fake it. Please don’t misunderstand me here (keep reading, I will explain). When I say that I fake it, I don’t mean that I am not being genuine while preaching or ministering, or doing anything else. Let me give you an example.

When I was still in college I got a job teaching gymnastics to kids (I still teach by the way). When I first started I would get there and be worn out from studying, class, and the long drive there. But, when you are teaching kids there is no room to be tired, so an experienced coach gave me some great advice; when you are tired pretend that you have energy, fake it. So I tried it. I was dog tired but I went out there jumping around like a kangaroo on zoloft. The funny thing is, after about 5 minutes of faking like I had energy, I found that I actually had energy!

It’s the same with doing a baptism, funeral, wedding, or ministering to the grieving. Stepping into the situation I usually have no idea what I am doing. But, I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me and I step up to the plate like I’m ready to swing, then when the pitch comes my way I find that I actually am ready and I swing with the power of the Holy Spirit.

I think that we tend to be more capable than we think we are. There are many situations that you might find yourself in that you don’t feel equipped to handle. My guess is that if you step up to the plate as a willing participant with the Holy Spirit, with the confidence that He knows what He is doing, you will be just fine.