11/13/21 by Larry Barker
Are you a doer and a fixer by nature? While planting a church in the early nineties I turned to my wife and said, “When did I become a workaholic?” I expected her to console me, as she so often did, and assure me that I was a hard worker but always kept things in balance. Instead, she said, “I’m trying to remember when you were not!” The reality is that many of us in ministry spend most of our time focusing on fixing things and solving problems. We spend much of our time putting out fires and reacting to the challenges that arise almost daily. We remain focused on manipulating our external realities.
There is a great need for leaders to plan, strategize, and remain focused on moving things forward through prayerful planning and seeking God’s face. You should not only be reactionary but proactive in carrying out God’s mission through the biblically sound vision He places upon your heart. God’s commanded mission is your compass to carry out His Great Commission. The mission of God is the road your church is to be traveling upon while Biblical doctrine and theology are the guardrails to keep you up on the road of carrying out His commands and being about His business.
God’s mission is your compass. Vision is your travel brochure giving your congregation a clear picture of God’s preferred future for your church. Becoming proactive in discovering His vision for your church is what helps you determine what you will do and what you will not do. There are four vision dynamics involved in this. It is God’s vision, through your church, in your community, and for such a time as this. Your local church includes the people of God, saved by the power of God, for the purposes of God. You are called to deploy and express the fullness of God into every corner of culture.
It is far too easy to end up relying only on your gifts, talents, and experience to guide and direct you more than seeking God’s face. Competency and charisma can be valued over character. You become so focused on what you are doing you forget about what is far more important, being with Jesus. You can become so busy for Jesus that you miss Him in the journey. Never allow your activity for Jesus to rob you of your adoration of Jesus. The beauty of this pursuit is that it allows the Great Commission, Biblical doctrine, and the leadership of the Holy Spirit to guide you in what your church will be involved in.
This involves embracing the gift of God’s limitations. There are certain things you must say no to and also things you probably should say no to. Pastor, you cannot do everything. You can easily be tempted into thinking your church must be all, do all, and try all that is suggested by a well-meaning member or because another church is doing it. You begin to see God’s limits as a curse instead of realizing that His limits are actually a blessing. Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve ignored the one limit God placed upon them. They decided that they knew what they needed better than He did.
The biggest step to this is being willing to surrender to God’s limitations on you spiritually, emotionally, and physically. You cannot do everything and the beauty is that God never expected you to. God established the sabbath and in Exodus 31:17 says, “It is a sign forever between Me and the Israelites, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” Are you willing to say no, or even not yet, to the things that are beyond God’s plans and expectations of you? Let me get a little personal, are you practicing any kind of sabbath in your life?
God’s limits are good and so is rest. Please allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through Mark 6:30-31, “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” Did you see it? Get some rest. He did not say to work harder, don’t you dare stop, or sacrifice your family, health, or sanity. Jesus coached them to practice what He practiced regularly by getting alone with the Father and being refreshed.
Are you surrendered to His limits on you spiritually, physically, and emotionally? Do you have a spiritual awareness to focus on your relationship with Him to ensure that your being with Him is sufficient enough to sustain what you are doing for Him? Do you have a physical awareness of knowing that your body is a major prophet? It lets you know of trouble ahead when you are over-taxing yourself. It signals that you need a break from the stress and tension. Do you have an emotional awareness that you have reached your limit because your patience is extra thin and joy has left? You realize that you need to be refreshed and renewed.
Spiritual fullness occurs when there is a healthy balance between being with Jesus and doing for Jesus. If you are not spiritually healthy by abiding in Him and finding your rest in Him (Matt. 11:28) you will engage in activities that your spiritual reserves cannot sustain. Are you receiving more from Jesus in your daily walk with Him than you are doing for Him? Are you making sure that your cup is full enough to enable endurance and perseverance? Are you focusing on abiding in Christ at least as much as you are attempting to achieve for Christ?