Forest Gump, Wes Lane & Africa

For those of you familiar with the Tom Hank's 1994 movie "Forrest Gump", the character of Forrest seems to find himself intersecting with leaders and figures around the world, without his having pursued any of it - it just unfolds (in a charming and funny way). Some of you have heard me refer to myself as feeling like an unwitting "Christian" Forrest Gump… I find myself becoming friends with Chuck Colson, find myself meeting leaders from around the U.S. who, I'll be darn, seem to have this deep hunger for what we are feeding at SALLT! I mean, I couldn't make this stuff up.
​
And so it is that in the next few weeks, I leave for Africa. It seems that one of Cru's (Campus Crusade) international leaders, Bob Varney, sees SALLT as an "engine of transformation" for cities and wants me to meet with business and government leaders in both Abidjan, Ivory Coast and Johannesburg, South Africa. I will be with Bob for a week sharing the vision God has for cities everywhere and how He calls us as leaders to be systemic change agents in our communities.

I don't know who the unseen hand was behind Forrest Gump's adventures, but I know who is directing the SALLT movie and it's Jesus. You realize, I remind you, that this is what the supernatural life with God looks like for all of us - He orchestrates our path, raising up everything and everyone required to accomplish His purposes through us. Our God of Great Specificity calls us as leaders to be solution bringers to our cities. In our hot pursuit of Him, He establishes the path He wishes us to travel. It is indeed a path of high adventure.

My prayer for you is that you would pursue Him with all of your heart as, I believe, there is a Christian Forrest Gump within each of us.

Wes Lane

---