Resurrection Stories Part 2
Series Introduction
In our research, we’ve learned that healthy marketplace leaders are guided by a redemptive imagination. They look at the world around them and believe not only that better is possible but also that they can play a role in bringing better about. Their version of better is informed by the way of Jesus and the values of the kingdom.
How do we develop a redemptive imagination? We believe that one way to cultivate a redemptive imagination is by learning to see evidence of resurrection in our lives. In the shadow of death, where do we see God bringing new life? In the midst of despair, how does God bring hope?
To help us learn to see evidence of resurrection in our lives, work, and leadership, we’ve collected a few stories from people like you who are also learning to see God at work in their midst. With each story, we’ve provided a few reflection questions to help you continue to cultivate a redemptive imagination.
From Death to Life: A New Company Is Born
By Stephen Morse
Following the Commencement Ceremony of my Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller in June 2016, I returned from six years on the mission field in Madrid, Spain to my home in Sydney, Australia with my wife, Sarah, and 3-year-old daughter. Our ministry in Spain was to combat human trafficking in the sex industry, which was also the focus area of my research.
We returned home to Sydney to raise additional funds for our eventual return to Spain at the beginning of 2018. But in 2017, our plans to build on the work we had commenced in Spain began to die.
Unexpectedly, my father of 83 years was diagnosed with cancer and died 6 weeks after diagnosis, right around the time our second daughter was born. Immediately, my mother went into aged care, suffering from dementia, and we were left to clear, clean, and sell the family home, which we did by the end of 2017. In short, our plans to raise funds were thwarted and we ended the year depleted, sensing that the return Spain was no longer on God’s agenda. Added to this crisis was that all our personal belongings were stuck in storage in Madrid and we had no means to retrieve them. With my mother in care, we chose to stay in Sydney.
This was a dying moment, especially for me.
The resurrection moment came in January 2018, through a month of prayer and fasting, where Sarah and I began to discern God’s future for us afresh. A vision of a blank canvas was cast before us with the invitation to paint—and paint we did.
Fast forward 5 years. Our Spanish sojourn has become the backstory to the company that we have established in Australia, which in effect is the implementation of the Ministry Program I wrote back in 2015 during my Doctor of Ministry program. I wrote it for me to live out.
Our company is Unchained Solutions, which consults with businesses to address the issue of modern slavery/human trafficking in the supply of goods and services in light of the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018. The building of this company has been a resurrection experience and one that continues today.
Reflection Questions
- Have you ever had big life plans interrupted? What did it feel like? How did you respond?
- Can you think of a time when you experienced a dream die only to see God bring it to new life in an unexpected way?
- In this story, Stephen describes a time when he and his wife prayed and fasted, hoping to discern God’s plans for them. What sorts of practices do you commit to in seasons of discernment?
- In what ways does this story inspire you to examine what God might be calling you to do in your work?
Read Resurrection Stories Part 1, Part 3, and Part 4.
Banner image by Ben White on Unsplash.
