27. Discovering How to Find Your Purpose and Owning It with Pastor Brian Suter
Most of our life revolves around finding the answer to the question, “What is the meaning to my life?” Some of us find this calling by accident, while some spend their whole lives seeking it. There’s always uncertainty and struggle in learning how to find purpose in our lives. Nevertheless, it’s something that stirs our souls and makes us feel grateful to be alive. And this calling doesn’t stop when we find it; we have to own it and live to it. As our purpose unfolds day by day, it’s within us to fulfill it and be a part of God’s bigger picture.
In this episode, Pastor Brian Suter joins us to talk about how to find purpose and how he discovered his life’s calling in ministry. He shares the journey of how he went from knowing about the purpose God gave him to owning it. Brian also talks about the experiences and challenges that have shaped his purpose in his personal and professional life. He believes that the different seasons in our lives profoundly change the nature of our purpose.
Tune in to the episode to learn how to find purpose in your life and own it.
3 reasons why you should listen to the full episode:
Discover why there’s a difference between knowing and owning your purpose.
Learn the three things to keep in mind on how to find purpose.
Find out how you can grow amidst conflicts.
Resources
● Connect with Brian: LinkedIn | Instagram | Branch Church
● Episode 28: Formerly Incarcerated To Civil Liberties Strategist, Part 1 with Lewis Conway Jr.
● Episode 30: Formerly Incarcerated To Civil Liberties Strategist, Part 2 with Lewis Conway Jr.
● Episode 31: Inspiring Women to Live Life Victoriously with Shug Bury
● Episode 32: Overcoming Childhood Trauma with Dr. Raj Setthuraju
● Securing Church Operations by Simon Osamoh
● Church Safety by Simon Osamoh
● Find Your Why by Simon Sinek
● Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
Episode Highlights
[02:13] Brian’s Role as a Pastor
● Brian was the Pastor of Creative Teaching Content at Westwood Community Church.
● A pastor’s role is to help guide people within a faith community toward the life God has intended for us.
[04:14] Brian’s Journey to Becoming a Pastor
● Becoming a pastor was not something Brian found; it found him.
● Amidst contemplating his future, he had an incredible experience in his church’s youth ministry. He then thought about becoming a professional youth pastor.
● Brian went on with other pursuits in college, but he quickly realized he needed to pursue becoming a pastor.
● People told Brian that he has some gifts that he should pursue within the ministry. This helped him on how to find purpose in his life.
● Brain went from youth ministry to working in adult ministry to now teaching and preaching within the church.
Brian: “I don’t believe in random circumstances—that there’s an orchestration behind it. And so, every chapter, marker, and season where something new unfolds, it was not by accident.”
[07:17] Discovering and Owning His True Purpose in Life
● There’s a difference between knowing and owning your purpose.
● As different dynamics unfolded within Brian’s journey, there was a movement from knowing his purpose to owning it.
● An aspect of being a pastor is walking alongside families in both sacred moments of weddings and grief. It made Brian realize this is what God made him for.
● Brian considers himself a vessel of his purpose.
[09:51] How to Find Purpose
● The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why. There are a lot of different chapters and seasons to our “why.”
● There’s something within every single one of us that we need to unearth. It’s something that stirs our souls and makes us feel alive.
● Listen to the voice of trusted people. These people should be for you and are neutral about your circumstances.
● Learning how to find purpose is a trial and error process. Remember: if we’re not dead, we’re not done.
● Brian’s purpose didn’t change when he became a dad, but its profound nature shifted. Tune in to the full episode to hear about Brian’s purpose.
Brian: “There’s a lot of different dimensions of our purpose that unfolds every single day, every single month, every single year that goes and coincides with our seasons.”
[14:15] The Challenges of Being a Pastor
● The challenge pastors face is having no control over the results of the message they put out.
● There’s a gap between what Brian does versus how much control he has over the result.
● He has gotten better at reconciling that gap, knowing there’s a bigger picture behind everything.
● Despite not having control over everything, we can still do the best job we can to help people see God’s intention.
[17:50] Having a Positive Role Model
● Brian is grateful for his family’s impact on his life. In particular, his grandfather took a special interest and investment in him.
● Brian’s grandfather was a WWII fighter pilot. He shared his love for aviation with Brian.
● Amidst this passion, his grandfather lived a quiet, steady, persistent, and honest faith journey.
● Brian’s first experience of death was the death of his maternal grandmother. His grandfather modeled an authentic faith for him at that time.
● Watching his grandfather and being involved in the church set Brian on the trajectory of who he is now.
[21:52] Challenges Brian Overcame
● Brian has been challenged when he runs into conflicts with other people in whatever context.
● Brian works hard at determining what he can learn about himself and how he can grow amidst conflict.
● He learned over time that there’s a nugget of truth in what he needs to hear but doesn’t want to.
● For example, one comment that bothered him was about how he smacked his lips.
● Another challenge goes back to what he can do and what he can actually control.
Brian: “Conflict can be a great mechanism and a great crucible to create something that is better than it was before.”
[25:37] Handling Criticism
● Brian admits that there’s resistance every time he hears a negative comment.
● The best people to speak to in our lives are the ones closest to us.
● Brian learned to be open to those things through his mentors, wife, and friends.
● He realized that not listening to such comments could mean running into more trouble along the way. He decided to take these criticisms and learn from them.
[27:09] Moments When Things Clicked for Brian
● The way Brian views contentment is through the concentric circles of importance around his life.
● His faith journey came together during a summer camp in high school. He sensed God speaking to him about the life he should lead, and he said yes to it.
● As a father, everything snaps into place when his eyes are on his kids, and he’s fully present with them.
● His work clicks for him when he sees someone’s life change before his eyes. God changes these lives, but Brian gets to play a small part in it.
About Pastor Brian
Brian Suter is the lead pastor of Branch Church and a former pastor at Westwood Community Church. He has been in church ministry since 2001, taking on leadership roles in student and adult ministry, teaching, and development. In 2020, Brian felt a calling from God to build a church, which came to fruition as Branch Church in 2021. He is passionate about helping people discover Jesus and grow in their relationship with Him.
Brian has been married to his wife for 13 years. They have two children, who they lovingly raise in the Excelsior, MN area.
If you want to reach out to Brian, you can visit his LinkedIn and Instagram. You can also go to Branch Church’s website for more information.
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