Opportunistic Discipleship
by Lisa Coleman

Chance encounters. Perfect timing. Missed opportunities. Have you ever experienced one? Know of one?  In the year 2000, Blockbuster was the leader in the video rental industry. A small startup called Netflix met with the Blockbuster CEO and proposed a partnership. Netflix was laughed out of the office. Despite changing consumer preferences, Blockbuster doubled down on its store-first model by offering popcorn, books, and toys, while Netflix experimented with a subscription model and no late fees. Only 10 years later, Netflix had over 20 million subscribers. Blockbuster declared bankruptcy. 

There are some that leave lifelong impressions, like the story of Denis Waitley. He barely missed his flight to Los Angeles in May of 1979. In fact, they had just closed the door to the jetway when he arrived at the gate in Chicago. He begged them to let him on the airplane, but they would not. On his way to file a complaint he heard the airport intercom crackle on with an announcement. That flight, American Airline flight 191, had crashed upon takeoff. All 271 people on board perished. It was the deadliest aviation accident in United States history. His perfect timing?  His own tardiness was perfect timing for him – it saved his life, and he was forever changed from the near miss.

Marriages built on chance encounters (sometimes called blind dates) or perfect timing with the right person at the most unlikely right time happen all around us. The love stories of our ancestors and even our very own are great examples of the right set of circumstances or golden opportunities.  Vocation decisions, education opportunities, and business decisions can all be viewed as luck or right timing, good moments if you will. In the retelling over the years, ‘what if’ often leads the final moments of the story.

“We’ve been married 50 years and I often think what if I hadn’t gone to the ballgame that night!” “Imagine if I hadn’t gone on that mission trip or youth rally?”  “I was in school studying business and got a new roommate who was studying nursing. I ended up going to nursing school!”

Great disappointments can also apply.

“What if I had not lost my job? I would have never…”

“What if the wedding hadn’t been called off?”

As Christ followers and believers in the Sovereignty of God, we can discern divine encounters or divine intervention albeit quite often understood in hindsight. Faithfulness and trust provide the impetus to walk through a given opportunity with eyes that see God in the middle. We hear the testimonies: God led me to my spouse, God saved me from the disaster or wrong choice, and God granted me this way forward. Have you ever volunteered to serve in one area and found yourself serving in a completely different capacity? As disciples for Jesus, discipleship rests on openness and willingness to embrace opportunities presented. Many ministry stories begin with, “I could never have imagined my simple prayer or service deed would have led to this.” Opportunity and discipleship often go hand in hand.

This Sunday we will study Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts chapter 8.  Be thinking about your own past encounters and opportunities and pray for the ones that may still lie ahead!

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If you cannot be with us in person, feel free to download the Bible study materials for your personal use by following one of these links: PowerPoint Slides, PDF File. You can also find the video of this session on our YouTube channel soon after the meeting concludes. And lastly, you could follow this link to download other studies in this series: INpowered Discipleship if you happened to miss one of our prior studies.

Yours in Christ,

Eric Glover   
The Gospels Class     
Brentwood Baptist Church