I remember the first time I was asked to write a personal bio for a ministry position. I had never written a personal biography before. As I wrote, I was trying to cover all the bases I thought someone would need to read to make me sound credible with a bit of wishful thinking tossed in. Over the years, my bio has become short and to the point, hopefully without much self-promotion.

The turning point for me was something pastor Ron Mehl of the Beaverton Foursquare Church once said in a pastor’s gathering many years ago when I was still young in ministry. Ron said, “Let God make room for you.” He went on to say other profound things that day, but that single remark was the one that impacted my life.

The bios we all read are many times written by the person they highlight. To read some of them, they appear like an endorsement for a head of state or a global ministry icon, when in reality, that may not be the case. I chuckle because when I was a young pastor in the early years before I heard Ron Mehl’s wisdom, I once wrote a similarly foolish bio promoting myself as a person I hoped to become. When I saw the bio in print, my stomach turned as I recalled the wise words of Ron Mehl. 

If we let God be the one who promotes our life, He will take us to places we could never have imagined. He will also be faithful to connect our life with individuals, groups, and institutions that self-promotion could never accomplish.