The Power of Showing Up

Last week Viral Jesus hit 100 episodes. In honor of that milestone, I would like to share some thoughts with you on consistency and patience.

I have turned on this mic over 100 times. I have prayed over what to say on each episode over 100 times. I have made over 100 sets of show notes, over 100 scripts, and discussed large and small edits with Loren Joseph, our audio engineer, and Ed Gilbreath, our executive producer, over 100 times.

And guess what, friend? This podcast is not No. 1 on the charts. We haven’t hit a million downloads. We aren’t making tons of money from our time investment, but here is what I can say with certainty: More than 100 times, we have tried to serve you faithfully with constant prayer and integrity.

Today, with three weeks left till 2024, I want us to think about that. I want you to think about what you are willing to keep showing up for. What are you willing to do quietly and faithfully without massive applause, without tons of resources, without personal gain? What are you willing to do 100 times?

Whatever that thing is for you, commit to it with all your heart and all your prayer and all integrity over and over again, not because it is serving you, but because you are serving through Jesus. This is how we are being made into the image of God, when we keep showing up.

It’s holy work. In 2021, when we set out to create Viral Jesus, I wanted to encourage people who were trying to create impact or change, in whatever sphere they were located, to bring people closer to Christ.

Viral Jesus isn’t for watchers. It was created for creators. It is for doers. It is for people who are serving and want to learn from other people who are actively serving. You are here because you are trying to be faithful to what God has put in your hand. Not what you wish he had put into your hand, but what he has actually put in your hand.

I want to encourage you, in honor of us hitting our 100th episode, to pick up whatever it is God has called you to and keep showing up. Renew your commitment to that missional, creative act.

The world is thirsty for leadership that is consistent. And if you read my first book, It’s Not Your Turn, then you understand that the entire point is this: “Who we are when it is not our turn is more important than who we will be when it is.” It is not hard to hit record for the next episode of your podcast when you know you’re going to have 500,000 downloads.

What is hard is to show up week after week when you don’t know how many people are going to listen. That takes character and integrity.

In one of his last public speeches before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. told students at a junior high school in Philadelphia to develop a solid blueprint for their futures. He said (and I paraphrase): “If one day you’re called to be a street sweeper, then your charge is to sweep those streets with so much passion and so much intention and so much integrity that all of heaven has to stop and say, ‘Oh, my God, look at that street sweeper.’”

I preached a sermon series to a group of ministry leaders this past weekend, and I focused it on the parable of the Good Shepherd in John 10. And because all of our Viral Jesus listeners are leaders, I’d like to share this message with you, too.

The passage is John 10:11-13. Reading from the Christian Standard Bible:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.”

The wolf snatches and scatters the sheep because the hired hand doesn’t care about putting in the extra effort to protect the flock. This is what Dr. King is talking about. Whatever work we’re called to do, we serve with all of our heart because it brings God glory.

A wolf is coming. Jesus told us this. A wolf is going to come, and God doesn’t need a generation of hired hands. He needs more leaders who are willing to lead in whatever sphere of influence they have. If it is with your children, then you lead. If it is in ministry, then you lead. If you are working and creating things online, then you lead. You lead in the footsteps of the good shepherd who serves the sheep, not the other way around.

We created this show because we wanted to inspire people to lead faithfully in whatever sphere of influence to which they’re called. You are not a hired hand. You are an image bearer of the God of heaven and earth and a follower of the Good Shepherd.

Host Bio
Heather Thompson Day is an associate professor of communication at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She is the author of eight books, including I’ll See You Tomorrow and It’s Not Your Turn. Reach out to Heather on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, at @HeatherTDay and on Instagram @heatherthompsonday. Get Heather’s weekly inspirational email delivered to your inbox every Friday night at 7 p.m. EST. Sign up now at: www.heatherthompsonday.com/links.