Equip God's People

I've had a moment recently. After seven and half years in ministry, six of those full time, I'm finally starting to get it. I CAN'T do it all. In fact, I DON'T have to do it all. It is hard for me to ask for help. Not b/c I don't think others are capable of contributing, I just hate to ask them. I feel like I'm bothering them. After all I get paid pretty good to this and the tithe paying members of the church should get what they pay for. BUT that is so NOT the way it is supposed to be.

I've been teaching alot lately in our student ministry about the body of Chirst. And I think it is finally starting to sink in....to me. It hit me as I was getting one of our classrooms ready for our new BreakOut groups. I don't have to hit a home run sermon every week, I don't have to be at EVERY sporting, band, drama event, I don't have to be the one to plan every event and trip, remind students of those events and their responsibilities. I don't have to be the one to greet every new student and contact every student that's MIA. I don't have to be the one to pick out every piece of curriculum and teach it page by page. I don't have to be the one to send out letters, do the bulletin, do the attendance, make videos, set up, tear down, pick up, take home, and a multitude of details that come with student ministry. I have been doing this, I am doing this, but I'm working on no longer doing this.

Up until about 3 years ago, I could do almost everything fairly well. My wife and I were both in full time ministry and we had no children. We worked everyday until the sun went down, even our days off. Now she has a teaching job outside of our ministry (and is darn good) and we have three year old angel of a daughter with plans for another offspring.....and I just can't do what I used to could do....at least not successfully.

The church has been given GiftS from Christ, not the gift of a young savvy youth pastor to do all the work. But a training team to "Equip God's people to do his work and build up the church" and "it is each parts job to help the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing." (Ephesians 4:11-16)

There is some relief and release in those scripture. But also some conviction and confrontation. So actually by "not bothering people" I have been hurting them and preventing them from doing His work. I have kept them from growing, helping others grow, and even preventing the whole Body of Christ from growing. Most of the time we prevent others from growing, because we don't want to take the time on the front end to train them for their work. Instead we'd rather work a little harder and do it our-self.

It's not our job to do it everything. It's not our job to make those we lead, God's people, to do everything we are supposed to do. It IS our job to help those we lead, God's people, to do everything He wants them to do.