Necessarily Different

By David Winston

For years people have asked me, “How does it feel to be Bill Winston’s son and have to follow in his footsteps?”

None of his achievements or accomplishments used to intimidate me … until God called me into full-time ministry. Before that, when people asked me if I was going to be a pastor like my dad, I confidently said, “Nope!” In retrospect, I think I was more fearful than anything. Once I entered full-time ministry in 2009, I wondered how I was going to step up and do something like what Dad had done.

The bigger question was: Do I even have what it takes to be great? Will what I have be enough for the people I’m supposed to lead? These questions bothered me for the first several years in ministry. Though few understood it, God was purging my insecurities.

One morning in prayer, amid thoughts of doubt and insecurity, I heard God’s voice say, “You could never fulfill the purpose that your dad was called to fulfill.”

At that moment, I thought, Yes, of course. God, we both know I couldn’t do what my dad was called to do during the time he was called to do it. It wasn’t the sudden jolt of divine confidence I’d hoped for.

What He said next completely shifted my paradigm: “And your dad could never fulfill what you are about to do.”

That was like an explosion inside of me. I’d never thought about it like that. What was once intimidating was now intriguing. Even the thought that I could do something that my father couldn’t possibly do was amazing. The more I meditated on it, the more insight came. I discovered that I had false expectations on myself. And the only expectations that I have to measure up to are God’s expectations. I focused so much on what I wasn’t, I abandoned what I was. I neglected to pay attention to my own pedigree of genius.

We all have our own pedigree of genius. Sometimes we look at prominent people and think: “I could never do what they’ve done.” But flip the story around: they aren’t equipped to do what you can do! Don’t focus on what you aren’t. Doing that will always leave you regretting who you are. Your very existence highlights God’s creative genius, bringing glory to Him. If God is proud of His creation, you should be too.

I can’t do everything my dad can do and has done. As much as I love, respect, and honor my father, as well as value what he’s taught me, the truth is, he can’t do what I’m called to do. He doesn’t have what God gave me. My personality is my God-given gift. My difference maker. It’s the vehicle He wants to use to get the attention of others. In fact, God is counting on our differences to further facilitate the accomplishment of His will. Both of us are absolutely necessary, even though we are different.