Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Perna. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Michael, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
At first I thought I wanted to be a teacher. Like many people my age, I watched Dead Poets Society and wanted to be Robin Williams’ character Mr. Keating. Really, though, that was just something I put in the blank for job because nothing else seemed remotely interesting. I came to faith in Christ as a junior in high school, and then I thought I’d go into professional ministry – mostly because several folks who knew me said I should. That fell through mostly because I left seminary emotionally and financially wrecked, which is a story for another time, and had a very difficult time finding work in traditional ministry spaces. Eventually I found myself attending an event called The Steampunk World’s Faire, because I am decidedly that nerd – where my faith and my love of nerd culture overlapped.
The event was going on the same weekend an infamous radio preacher said Jesus was coming back – so the whole weekend was covered in jokes and more than a bit of harsh mockery. A friend of a friend knew that I was a minister – even if it wasn’t my job title – and asked if I’d pray with her. She felt she didn’t have a home in either her church or at events like the World’s Faire, because her love of one seemed to garner scorn from the other. She felt alone, and hurt, and didn’t know what to do about it. I prayed with her then — and then immediately reached out to some friends about an idea I had.
I’ve had a number of experiences in my life that helped refine what I believe my purpose to be. Many of them were forged in failure or a lack in available time or resources. But one thing is consistent through all of them. I knew that I was here to hear those who think they don’t have a voice, to be there with folks who think they are alone, and to love like Christ loves me to folks who don’t think anybody cares. I help people see the beauty in their stories, because when I was a kid, I almost didn’t make it out of my teenage years because I thought mine wasn’t worth telling.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
In my day job I am a treatment support technician at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. It’s a pretty new job, but at it’s core it’s about helping people develop skills they will need to continue in their recovery and provide support to therapists and others so that they are free to do their job the best they can.
When I’m not doing that, I am the president of InnRoads Ministries – a small 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that helps churches, libraries, and community groups use board games and tabletop role playing games to develop powerful relationships and build community. There is something truly amazing that happens when you get people to play together. It has the power to overcome divisions, to build empathy, and to relieve the burden and stress that can sometime build up through the course of daily life. We build common histories with people and show how we are more connected than we are separate.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three important qualities would definitely include empathy, humility, and faith. Empathy helps you connect with others in ways that matter most. It is a way to see people for who they are as complex and amazing individuals who have been through glorious and horrible things in their lives that color where they are. It’s a way to see the full picture. Humility is an under-rated quality in a world that seems to be built around being loud, being first, and demonstrating your value. Humility is a quality that leaves space to learn more. It reminds us that we are no less capable of making mistakes as others, and that even when we have achieved expert-level experience, there may be a perspective out there that sees something we are blind to. While folks who don’t share my particular brand of faith might balk at it, ultimately faith provides us with a hope to keep pushing and keep moving when the rest of the world seems to give us absolutely no reason to keep trying. I will tell you that my hope is grounded in Christ and that He has never failed me even when folks acting in His name have — but in the end you have to believe in something to keep going.
My best advice is to not let failure deter you from trying. There are things I’ve failed at which let me know to change course all together towards greater things. There are also failures that refined the scope and focus of what I should do next. Success can’t be measured just by things working well. We win – or we learn.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
The biggest challenge to doing what I’m most passionate about doing simply boils down to lack of resources and opportunity – though opportunity isn’t necessarily the right way to say that. In a way, we have more than enough opportunities to not only continue moving forward in InnRoads Ministries’ mission. However, even speaking as the president of the organization, it is hard to place this work in a priority when so much of what we do requires out of pocket expenses and time we have to carve away from what time we have with our families. None of us take a dime of payment. It’s even rare that we get any of the games we use in our day to day work with organizations supplied for us. We are a niche effort within the niche of Christian ministries/nonprofits, and even the most traditional, mainstream, organizations have been feeling the belts tighten for a while now.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.innroadsministries.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innroads/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gamestoreprophets
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@InnRoadsMinistries
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