9/25/23 by Larry Barker
Is God telling you it is time to move to another ministry? Do you have the peace of God in your decision to move on or is there great inner turmoil? Make sure you are abiding in Him and His word is abiding in you. When you are in His will you have His calming presence and conversely, there will be great unrest when you are not. Does your wife and family have peace about this decision? What do your mentors and spiritual friends have to say about the decision you are considering making? Please, only go to a church or ministry if God has called you but also, do not leave until you are 100% sure it is God who is calling you away.
Churches will come up and opportunities will present themselves. It seems like a cool thing to be wanted and needed, but is it? Even if it is a wonderful opportunity that in and of itself does not mean it is definitely God’s will. More importantly, does it match what God has already told you to do? You may be the “kind” of pastor they are looking for but that does not mean you are the “specific” person God had in mind. Opportunity does not mean obligation because the need for strong biblical, healthy, Great Commission churches with strong biblical pastors is everywhere.
Henry Blackaby states, “Though there are many marvelous places to serve the Lord, they are not the place God has called us to serve Him. To accept one of these offers would mean leaving unfinished much of what God had told us He wanted us to do where we are. God doesn’t leave loose ends when He guides people.” Moses made it clear (Exodus 33) that he did not want to proceed if God’s presence would not go with him. King David (II Samuel 5:10) had this same awareness, “And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with Him.” David knew he was the leader but he also knew God had placed him there.
In God-Initiated Leadership, Bill Elliff says this about the confident humility King David possessed, “This is a powerful and essential couplet — confidence in your God-ordained position, but humility that is God-given.” Here are some great questions Bill encourages us to ask ourselves. “Have you accepted the role of leadership where God has placed you? Do you have confidence, not timidity? Do you continually realize that it is His doing and lead under His authority?” In a recent blog, Bill reminds us, “God will not come where leaders are strutting. He knows He cannot entrust His activity to them.”
In our church planter training (DCPI) there are 12 biblical principles that the teaching is built upon. The first principle is the Boss Principle. Allow me to adapt it to every area of our lives and our ministries. “Christ is the Lord over all which includes your life, your family, your church, your dreams, your aspirations, your goals, and your place of ministry. He has a vision for your church.” Christ is Lord and in Ephesians 1:22-23 Paul states, “And God placed all things under his (Christ’s) feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
The training states a great reminder for all of us, “This passage teaches us that our Heavenly Father placed Jesus Christ in the position of headship over His church. The word ‘Lord’ refers to the boss, leader, or head of an organization. Christ is the Lord of the church. He is the leader of the congregation … In order to have the right and biblical understanding of the church, the pastor must, through attitude and actions, submit to the Lordship of Christ over the church. The pastor must look to the Lord for guidance, direction, decision-making, and vision.”
This reinforces that God has a plan for your ministry and your church. Here is God’s control as taught in the training, “In Acts 16, the Apostle Paul is trying to plant a church. He wanted to go to Asia, but the Lord kept him from traveling in that direction. Then he decided to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow the missionary team to go there. Christ envisioned Paul’s planting a Macedonian church (Acts 16:9-10).” This is huge, “Your job is not to invent a vision. Your work is not to appropriate a successful vision from another church planter and church. Your job is to prayerfully discern the vision that Christ has for your church.”
There is a danger in always looking for open and closed doors but you cannot deny that God utilizes them. Henry Blackaby states, “I have learned to trust that when my Lord closes a door in my life it is because He loves me too much to give me less than His best.” Remember, it seemed logical for Paul to evangelize Asia on his second missionary journey but God closed the door. The account in Acts 16:7 says, “They tried to go onto Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” That sure sounds like a closed door. If He is Lord, He not only chooses the servants He will utilize (here Paul and his team) but He also chooses where they will serve.
Listen to Henry Blackaby again, “The key for Paul was not what he wanted to do for God, or what made sense to him, or even where the greatest need was. The key was going where God wanted him to go.” The reality is that it is not about you or me, and never will be. The ministry is about representing our Lord well and being faithful to where He has placed us. Allow me to quote Bill Elliff again, “And most importantly, are you letting God lead you by aggressively pursuing His presence and instantly submitting to His directives?” In other words, if God is saying stay, and more often than not He is, then stay!