Ordinary vs. Extraordinary

The following post is courtesy of Bill Higgins. You have probably read several of his posts here before. This post is about the power of being ordinary. There is more information about Bill at the end of this post.

I’m just an ordinary guy.

I’ve never won a major award. Never written a best seller. Never came up with a break-the-bank invention. Never won the lottery. Never starred in any sport. Never became a major corporate executive. Never headed an industry leading consulting group. Never became a household name (unless it was my Mom hollering, “BILLY!”). Never built a world wonder. Never had a street named after me. Never became a recognized expert in anything.

An Ordinary Guy

In other words, unless I’m mistaken, I’m pretty much just like you.

I pay my bills, donate to my church and monthly causes, don’t have more than three months’ cash savings, volunteer to help those less fortunate, have a great wife and super kids.

I do my job as best I can, and sometimes that’s really good and other times it doesn’t quite cut it.

All in all, I’m pretty much like you. And we are both just ordinary.

Most Are Ordinary!

But here’s the thing, there were millions of ordinary Israelites and only one Moses, one Jacob, one Abraham, Joseph and David.

There were thousands of ordinary believers in New Testament times, but only one Paul, one Timothy, one Peter, James, and John.

There are thousands of ordinary churches for every mega-church. There are thousands of ordinary pastors for every super-pastor. In fact, 95% or more of us are ordinary. We may like to think we’re more, but we’re just ordinary.

The thing of it is, the Biblical message is for every one of us, ordinary and extraordinary alike. Whether you are the super-pastor of a mega-church, a struggling saint in a neighborhood mini-church, the CEO of a major corporation, or the guy tightening the bolts, the message is the same.

Extraordinary Power

And the message for each one of us captured in Ephesians 3:20 is this: You can do so much more than you can even imagine through the dynamic power at work in you (author paraphrase). The word for power in this verse is the Greek word dunamas, from which we get the terms dynamo, dynamics, dynamite. God has a dynamo at work in you.

Now you may never be a Moses, Joseph, Paul, or Peter. You may never be a super-Christian winning souls left and right all over the globe. But you can have that dunamas power spoken of in Ephesians, right in your sphere of influence.

It Only Takes One!

You may only touch one that makes a difference, but you never know which one it will be. You may only have the privilege of leading one soul to the Lord, but it only takes one to unleash the dynamo of a Billy Graham, or a Desmond Tutu, or a Nelson Mandela. It only takes one. Many add gas to the tank, but it only takes one to start the engine.

Maybe you or me, Joe or Jane Ordinary, will be the one to unharness the next Billy Graham. Maybe.

So go. Just be the you God made you to be. Let Him unleash that dynamic power in you. Take a risk. Join His adventure. And understand that ordinary can be pretty extraordinary.

About the Author:

BILL HIGGINS is currently the Managing Director of MindWare Incorporated, an independent training and career coaching consulting firm. He previously served on the pastoral staff of churches in the U.S. and Canada, and worked in a managerial capacity for industry leading organizations.

Bill is a graduate of Biola University and Talbot Theological Seminary and his book, Your Road to Damascus: 6 Biblical Secrets for an Effective Job Search is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and MindWare Publishing websites.