Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country…
Matthew 24:13-14
The Colorado summer sun beat down on my shoulders as I walked the family dog around the familiar loop of our neighborhood, a brand-new podcast queued as I set my sights on the three-mile trek. It has been a difficult week of ministry in the local church and the tears I had been holding back the past several days were beginning to escape before I had even reached the end of my street and they were as hot as the pavement beneath my feet.
I grew up in church as a pastor’s kid and spent the last twenty years in vocational ministry as a worship pastor and now women’s pastor, and I had never wanted to quit like I did in that moment. I began begging God to let me resign, to choose someone else, to release me from the constant burden of full-time ministry as tears freely fell. I was having my own Paul moment from 2 Corinthians chapter twelve asking God to remove the thorn from my flesh as the weight of all the rejection, betrayal and disappointment was breaking my heart and crushing my soul.
That sidewalk became a sanctuary as my prayers went from whispers to roars, deep intercession with big questions and even bigger requests as the Lord comforted me with His Spirit and gently course corrected me with His Word. He reminded me that as Paul had come face to face with the challenges of saying yes to carrying the message of Jesus Christ, including being betrayed by foes and friends, that the very same grace He provided Paul, He offered me. His grace was sufficient for me.
He reminded me of all the times He had shown up as my defender and protector and He wouldn’t let me down even now as my tantrum turned to worship. Turning the corner towards home I heard the phrase, “Raised to Stay” in my spirit and I knew God had just given me something special. It was from John 15, “I am the vine, and you are the branches…” about abiding in Him and remaining in Him as He remained in me and if I would just stay connected to Him no matter how difficult ministry or people got, I would bear good fruit.
I hadn’t been raised to just survive or tolerate people or ministry or sit in mediocre or abusive churches. I had been raised to abide in Christ, to experience the fullness of His joy and when I remained in Him, I would produce good fruit. I was raised to release a Kingdom sound that preached a Gospel of love, hope, peace, truth, eternal life…holy longevity, patient endurance. Just as Jesus did, “for the joy set before him…” (Hebrews 12:2).
Just as the cross didn’t have the final say, the very thing we think will kill us is often the beginning of a resurrection. So many quit before the miracle, before they see the promises of God fulfilled in their lives and as Philippians 1:6 reminds us, “He who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it to the very end.”
But we must remain in Christ, stay connected to the vine, on mission with the Great Commission and Great Commandment to see the Kingdom of God come to earth as it is in Heaven.
Matthew 24 reminds us that staying with it, staying with Jesus and with His Word until the day we finish our race and hear, “well done good and faithful servant” is the Kingdom Gospel. Heads down, eyes up, lungs bursting as we run this race that God has set out before us.
We will want to quit a little bit of every day but just as Jesus remained in position on the cross, we too will stay in position knowing that a resurrection is coming. For the joy set before Him, for the joy set before us, we hold on another day trusting the Father is working behind the scenes on our behalf.
This phrase Raised to Stay would become an online community of thousands of believers who have a million reasons to walk away but stay for one reason and one reason alone: Jesus. It would then become a ministry and book calling people back into church community and relationship with a good Father after hurt and disappointment with the church. Had I quit that day on the sidewalk and allowed the enemy to pull me from the vine out of position, I wouldn’t be where I am right now carrying this Kingdom message entrusted to me.
We stay in position knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is going out to all nations through our obedience to remain on the vine no matter how hard the season. We hold tight to Jesus and refuse to be shaken, for this is an unshakeable kingdom. I’ll leave you with these words from Paul in Hebrews 12:2-3, The Message translation…
Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls.
Hebrews 12:2-3, The Message
Podcast: Raised to Stay
Raised to Stay is for those of us who have been both called and crushed, loved and sometimes left, welcomed and wounded by the Church, yet our love for Jesus keeps us holding on. Pressing in. Staying. Raised to Stay is for those who have stayed. Those who have wandered. It’s a call home. Not to just a physical building but a call back to our first love, Jesus. Back to our original Yes!
Raised to Stay: Persevering in Ministry When You Have a Million Reasons to Walk Away
An honest exploration of disappointment with the Church, Raised to Stay is for anyone weary of God’s people but longing to keep their faith in God.
God might seem silent right now. God’s people might seem not worth the wounds. But hold on as Natalie Runion embarks on a journey for all who are wandering, wondering, and wrestling. Together, we will move toward trusting God again, knowing that even though Christian community may fail us, the love of God never fails.
When we say yes to God, we don’t say yes to church politics, ladder climbing, or burnout. We say yes to Jesus. We say yes to hope. We say yes to much that we can still embrace. Through honest words and deeply personal story, Runion challenges us to be part of a generation known for the passionate pursuit of Christ. To be remembered for loving one another, forgiving one another, and persevering with one another in our hunger for God.
We aren’t quitters. We are the stayers.
To connect with Natalie and learn all that she has going on, visit her Linktr.ee page at Linktr.ee/Natalie.Runion and sign up for her newsletter, access her podcast, and find retail outlets where her book can be purchased.