I once heard a story about a man who was out fishing. He had fished all day and hadn’t caught anything. To make matters worse, near him in another boat
was an older couple who were catching fish all day long! However, he noticed that, although they were catching great big fish, they were throwing the big ones back and keeping all the little fish.
So, finally, this man who hadn’t caught anything, can’t stand it any longer, so he yells over to them, “How come you’re throwing the big ones back?” The man in the other boat reaches under his seat, pulls out a little, tiny frying pan, and shouts back, “Because they won’t fit in our frying pan!”
Every person reading this devotional has a frying pan. What’s more, you will 
judge everything you hear me say in worship during 2019 by your own frying pan. I want you to humor me, and when you finish reading this column, I want you to mentally take hold of your frying pan, count to three, and then throw it away. Then I want you to ask God for a big frying pan.
This one idea will revolutionize our ministry, and the plan that God has for us in 2019. Let’s see it big, and then keep it simple. George Barna says that our vision must be big enough to inspire people, and it must be simple enough that people can understand it.
Are you willing to do something great for God? Do you want to see us make a difference in people’s lives? To bring them to Christ, to heal their hurts, to help build their dreams? Let’s put our hand in God’s hand as we start this new year together. Where we are weak, God is strong. I want us to make this new year really count, for Jesus Christ. Together, let’s dream a big dream.
