I was at a point in ministry where I was meeting myself coming and going. I was a full-time children’s pastor and doctoral student plus I was working part-time with a growing ministry. At the same time, I was in the best shape I had been in years. I had lost 60 pounds and was working out and exercising five days a week.

While I was exercising, I started feeling pain in my right shoulder. Instead of slowing down or stopping, I thought I would push through the pain like I did in my younger years. What I did not realize was that I had torn my rotator cuff. It started around April, and by the end of the summer, I could no longer raise my arm from my side. The pain was overwhelming.

I had just finished my second mission trip that summer and the Lord had also called me to resign from my position as children’s pastor at my church in 2014. Shortly afterward, I had to have surgery to repair the damage to my shoulder.

When I woke up from surgery, my right arm was strapped to my side. Not a good situation. The pain was intense, so I could not move around much. The crazy thing is that even in the midst of all the pain, I could not…would not…stop. I was making plans. I began planning events and training conferences.

Now that I was on my own and not on a church staff, I could do whatever I wanted. I received a postcard from an elderly lady from my church—Ms. Bonnie, we called her. The postcard had the verse, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Bonnie wrote in the card, “Maybe God wants you to be still.” I pressed on. The first of the year arrived, and nothing I planned worked out. I was frustrated.

I was invited to lead a training in Dallas, Texas, in the winter of 2015. My former pastor, Dr. Sam Douglass, had invited me to speak to a church there. During a break midway through the training, he privately asked me where the Lord was leading me. I told him that I felt called to train leaders, but I really did not know where to start.

He invited me to attend a training event in Stephenville, Texas, in the spring of that year. He said, “The training will show how DCPI (Dynamic Church Planting International) has trained thousands of pastors worldwide.” That spring, I joined them.

On the first day of the training, one of the leaders shared the “Boss Principle,” the first principle of church planting.  I still remember what he said, “Your ministry is not your ministry; it is His ministry—Christ’s. Your assignment this evening is to take your Bible, hit a knee, and seek the Lord for vision for His ministry.”

That evening, I did just that. I knelt by the bed in my hotel room and gave it all up. I prayed, “Lord, I give this to You.” At 3:00 a.m., I woke up to His still, small voice. He said, “Clint, you need to stop and wait on Me. This is not your ministry; it is My ministry.” So, I did just that. It was freeing because the Boss said to stop.

I said, “Okay, Lord. I will wait for You.” Then, I waited and waited and waited. I am not very good at waiting. I kept asking, and the Lord was silent. That same year, I completed my doctorate, so that freed me up significantly. I almost felt guilty that I was not doing anything.

I shared with a good friend how I felt at the time. Angela said, “Clint, it’s okay not to do anything. Maybe the Lord is giving you time to rest. It is okay; you are not doing anything wrong.” Again, the Lord was speaking to me through others.

In November 2015, the Lord began to speak, and He made His vision for L.I.T. clear to me. I began writing the Empowering The Next Generation Handbook, which ran about 110 pages in length at the time. Within two months, I was finished.

In January 2016, I invited leaders from multiple states to a training session. My goal was to equip them to lead training events in their own states. These people came from churches that were already doing L.I.T. in their children’s ministries.

By January 2017, we had videotaped many of these leaders at Willow Park Baptist Church in Willow Park, Texas. I loaded the videos on our website and gave it away for free. The rest is history—it took off. The Lord gave it to me, and then He said, “Give it away.” So, I did just that.

Through the school of hard knocks, I have learned that there are a lot of “good ideas,” and there are “GOD IDEAS.” His ideas are the best. When I stop, He speaks. When I am too busy and life is filled with noise, I cannot hear Him. But then I remember, He is in the quiet places—the still places. Now, in those quiet moments, I say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.”

Remember, He wants to speak, but you have to turn off the TV, put your phone away, and be still and wait. He is ready to speak. Just wait and listen.