While it may not be easy, leaders need to get clear about what is life-giving for them, and then they need to prioritize this on their calendars. Pause for a minute and think of a job-related activity that is life-giving.
“How do I confront my leader?” Because God uses confrontation to mature us and develop us and because a life without confrontation is a life without growth, it is an important question. But it is also a dangerous question.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matt 11:28. Ministry hinges on leaders, but effective leaders are few and precious and many effective leaders fall. But before they fall, they burn out.
Missionaries are like the church’s Special Forces, right? They go into enemy territory, sometimes covertly, tearing down walls for Jesus. They have special training, preparing them to serve in the darkest places around the globe. Missionaries are on the front lines of the Kingdom of Heaven, right? I’m sorry, but no.
I want Christ, but I too often want Him as a kind of quantifiable spiritual asset, as something I can always check to be sure of just as I can check my bank account balance or my cholesterol level. I want what God has promised, but I want power of attorney to execute those promises when I’ve determined I need them. That’s not what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.
God in His sovereignty will perfectly accomplish His eternal plan for all of creation. We can choose to enter into the grand fulfillment and culmination of that plan – the establishment of His eternal kingdom.
This is the kind of advice that sounds good on paper, but when the rubber meets the road, it can be scary. The only thing that’s scarier would be for a generation of high-potential leaders to walk away from an inflexible church.
Knowing what God has called you to do is both freeing and limiting. I am free to pursue whatever opportunities are in line with the vision. I am also free to say no to those outside of that vision. Of course, we must pray and evaluate each opportunity, but the freedom to say no is, well, freeing.
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