I had never met someone so cautious.
Joan was quiet, conservatively dressed and polite to a fault – always. When I became her pastor, she was in her early 50’s.
Over time, I discovered her story carried a dark streak. In her late 30’s, her husband died, and she never remarried.
In conversation one day, Joan told me some of her favorite memories. Her husband had a motorcycle, and he used to take her on breath-taking rides – rides she absolutely adored.
Go Faster!
With fire in her eyes, she described how she would wrap her arms around his waist, hold tight, and shout over the wind, “Faster! Go faster!!” With a coy grin, she added, “I loved the thrill of the speed!”
Suddenly, I realized this prim and proper lady had a side she rarely showed – a part that liked to take risks, to live a little dangerously.
I wonder if, deep down, you might also like to live on the edge.
Dangerous
If so, I invite you to pray a dangerous prayer. It has changed the lives of countless millions of people.
It’s not something to ever pray casually. But if things have gone a little flat and you want to put some rocket fuel in your spiritual life, this is the prayer that can do it.
It’s just two words. Use me.
God’s Plan
It fits perfectly in God’s larger plan. From eternity past, God decided not to transform the world with a miraculous snap of celestial fingers.
Instead, God’s plan is to use a Divine instrument, the new community formed by God’s Holy Spirit. We call it the church.
Even more specifically, God chooses every day, ordinary people who are willing to follow his Son, Jesus, and pray this kind of prayer:
Lord, use me. I’m not sure what special gifs or talents I have. I don’t even know how or where I could be of use to You. But I am available. Use me in whatever way You desire to transform Your world.
That’s a dangerous prayer. If you pray it each day, it will change your life.
On The Edge
You don’t have to live in the land of bland. Go faster.
Feel the wind of the Spirit. Live on the edge. Become an instrument in the hands of God to make an eternal difference.
It’s what your life was meant for.
Go ahead. Kickstart your spiritual life and pray these simple words from your heart.
Use me.
Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that
we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us.
Ephesians 3:20 (CEB)
Speaking Schedule
June 8th: Roger will preach at Christ Church in Fairview Heights, Illinois, on Sunday (6/8) at 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 AM.
(339 Frank Scott Parkway E., Fairview Heights, IL)
June 15th: Roger will preach at Centenary UMC at 9:00 AM and Grace UMC at 10:30 AM, both in Jacksonville, IL.
I’d love to see you!
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Roger Ross
A native of Cambridge, Illinois, Roger has served as a pastor in Texas, the British Channel Island of Guernsey, and Illinois. While in Illinois, he led teams that planted two new churches and served for 10 years as the lead pastor of one of the largest United Methodist Churches in the Midwest. It was his privilege to serve as the Director of Congregational Excellence in the Missouri Conference before coming into his current role with Spiritual Leadership, Inc (SLI).
Roger now comes alongside pastors, non-profit leaders and their leadership teams as an executive coach, specializing in leadership that inspires change. As a side gig, he loves teaching evangelism and church planting as an adjunct professor at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas.
Other passions of his include SCUBA diving in warm blue water, Krispy Kremes, and board games with family and friends. He also has a weakness for golf.
Roger is the author of three books, Meet The Goodpeople: Wesley’s 7 Ways to Share Faith, Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For, and Come Back Participant Guide, all through Abingdon Press. Roger’s new book on Being and Making Disciples of Jesus releases August 2025.
Now for the best part. Roger is married to Leanne Klein Ross, and they live Bloomington, Illinois. God has blessed them with two adult children, a son-in-law, several tropical fish, and one adorable granddog.
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