A Catalyst for the Kingdom

A Catalyst for God’s Kingdom
By Joanne Mead

God speaks to each of us in different ways – and as a local preacher on trial who was just about to go solo, I was surprised when that still small voice made me realise that God wants me to be a catalyst.  As a scientist, I am well aware of what a catalyst does – it reduces the energy required for a chemical reaction to take place, but it never becomes used up or exhausted in the process.  For some time now, I have felt called to the task of evangelism – so did that make me a catalytic converter?  It was certainly a funny thought and some people laughed at the concept, but I’m sure God was completely serious.

As someone who is enthusiastic, and often stubborn and determined, it’s very easy to overdo things and end up over-tired and burned out.  Was this God saying that he wanted me to take things steady?  Well, that’s one interpretation and it certainly has a measure of relevance, but the catalyst idea has another connotation – that of making things happen, but without becoming exhausted myself.  It’s not so much a reminder to be sensible, but a call to be an enabler, an encourager and a driver for progress.  It can be the difference between success and failure, and for the churches with whom I have a connection, it has the potential to be a very positive ministry.

Two years on, I’m almost finished my studies to become an accredited local preacher and the sense of joy and the feeling of at-oneness when I lead worship has been overwhelming at times.  The other thing you become aware of as a preacher leading worship is the way in which the Spirit guides us and directs us, so that our message has relevance to people in the congregation.  In that context, I am beginning to realise what God meant by being a catalyst, for it is he who provides the resources and the Holy Spirit who touches the hearts of the people and empowers them.

When Jesus told the disciples about the Holy Spirit, the Advocate who would come after him (John 14), he promised that their minds would be opened and they would at last understand all that he had said to them.  They would be able to do what was previously impossible and they would take the news of God’s love to all nations.  We too share in the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that same Spirit works within us and through us.  Its influence is just as powerful as it was back then, if we allow it to be so.

I pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will indeed use me as a catalyst – an encourager and an enabler, to grow his Kingdom and that like Peter, I will have the confidence to preach boldly and with clarity.