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By Rick Lawrence
9/14/2007
"Bummer of a birthmark, Hal."
That's the punch line to one of my favorite Far Side cartoons. In the panel, two deer are standing in the forest during hunting season. One has a target-shaped birthmark on its chest; the other is pointing out the obvious.
You are that birthmarked deer.
Youth workers live in the Devil's cross hairs
Youth workers live in the Devil's cross hairs. Nine out of 10 Christian college students have had a "recommitment" experience that was equally as important as their conversion -- two-thirds of them during their teenage years.Nine out of 10 Christian college students have had a "recommitment" experience that was equally as important as their conversion -- two-thirds of them during their teenage years.
So you stand at the fulcrum of God's redemptive plan -- that's your bummer birthmark.
And since your own spiritual growth and maturity is the real key to effective ministry, guess where the enemy will attack? But some life habits function like a spiritual bulletproof vest.
1. Learn to say no -- Our inability to say no to requests for our time and attention has derailed us, time and again, from creating the space we need to pay attention to God. So what hooks us? Three things, I think:
Our desire to be liked, appreciated, and valued often overrules our calling to put first things first. When we say no, it's painfully hard to endure the disappointment we spur in the people who are counting on us.
Many of us believe that to be Christian means to "give up your life" for the church. We see ourselves as lifeguards watching over a stormy beach. There are always people drowning in the surf, and our first inclination is to rescue them. But as a counselor once told me, if you dive in to save a drowning person, you'll likely drown, too. It's better to stand on a solid surface, where you have leverage, and throw the struggling person a lifeline. We're called to give up our life for Jesus, not for the ministry.
Though we say we believe real ministry is accomplished through the grace of God -- 10% is us and 90% is God -- the truth is our actions say those statistics are reversed. So we launch ministry out of a panic that says we're fully in control of the results.
What we can do: During your next quiet time, place yourself on a "just say no" continuum -- one is "almost unable to say no when I need to" and 10 is "almost always able to say no when I need to." Then ask God for help -- specifically, for the strength to say no one more time per day than you do now.
2. Don't compartmentalize your relationship with God -- When Brother Lawrence wrote the classic book The Practice of the Presence of God, he was a dishwasher in a 17th-century monastery. The book chronicles his efforts to turn his everyday life into a perpetual prayer to God. Is your spiritual life characterized by an ongoing conversation or by compartmentalized times when you connect? In court, a transcriptionist records every spoken word for the record. What would your interior transcripts read like? How infused with God conversations would they be?
What we can do: Practicing the presence means inviting God into your everyday living. What have you talked to God about since you got up this morning?
3. Create space for quiet and solitude -- Pioneering youth minister Jim Burns says Jesus always preceded ministry with solitude (Luke 6:12-19). "Your strength to do ministry comes out of solitude -- it emanates from rest and lingering moments, not busyness and activity."
In Perspectives Magazine, The Message author Eugene Peterson writes on the fourth commandment: "The most striking thing about keeping the Lord's Day is that it begins by not doing anything. The Hebrew word shabbat...simply means, 'Quit; stop; take a break.' As such it has no religious or spiritual content: Whatever you are doing, stop it. Whatever you are saying, shut up. Sit down and take a look around you. Don't do anything. Don't say anything. Fold your hands. Take a deep breath."
What we can do: In the quiet, ask God: Am I too busy? If so, why? Journal what you hear.
4. Develop a courageous honesty about your life and relationships -- If you're dishonest about the state of your soul, and the health of your relationships, you're guaranteed to be dishonest with God -- 1 John 4:19-21 proves the point. I'd love to give you the five steps to courageous honesty, but you need a counselor, spiritual director, or dead-serious "iron-on-iron" group for that. If you've never submitted yourself to one of these before, you're either unaware of your need, fearful, or proud.
What we can do: Pray that God would bring a same-sex kindred spirit into your life who does more than keep you accountable -- you need someone who will love you fiercely enough to pursue your dark corners.
By the way, I highly recommend these spiritual-growth resources: Waking the Dead by John Eldredge, Windows to the Soul by Ken Gire, Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller, Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, and Near to the Heart of God compiled by Bernard Bangley.
It is around the eye of a storm that it does pivot. I'm sure we can all relate to idea the our ministry is a storm of programs, kids, small groups, parents, schools which we too often get caught up in. Moreover, it is when we get caught that everything truly spins out of control causing widespread chaos and unfortunately, but all too often, spiritual carnage that we must clean up. Like the eye of a storm we too must be quiet. The storm is not dangerous unless is it out of control. In fact, the storm like our ministry possesses great power when wielded with a righteous hand. Knowing all this I try to remind myself - be quiet and be God's, it is not the silence that will kill you.
Rob 8:07:52pm on 7/29/2008
OffensiveI feel so tired spiritually and physically and I know it is all a lack of rest in God. I actually said No the other day.
Charles Wallis 4:12:29pm on 12/14/2007
OffensiveI really appreciated this article. A well respected pastor friend of mine once told me, "Your church (elders, leaders, volunteers, parents, etc.) will rarely ever ask you how your prayer life is going, but they will ask about programs and numbers." I have experienced just that in my ministry experience. I am still working on my "quiet time" with the Lord. I also know that practicing His presence is necessary and a great help. Practicing His presence is very difficult. It would be great if their were more "practicing His presence accountability partners or mentors". Anyway, thanks for the article, Nathan.
Nathan 7:12:25am on 12/13/2007
OffensiveWe recently had a similar conversation, my pastor, worship leader and I, at church where we concluded that a lot of people think that Sunday morning is a time to praise God. Many have missed the point that its just not Sunday thats God's but every minute of every day that brings an opportunity for me to praise my King! (That deals with the 2. Don't compartmentalize your relationship with God) I also preached to my youth last Wednesday about saying No and when to say it. They really caught on and at the end of the lesson I said, "did we learn anything today?" And of course with a unanimous answer of, "NO!!" It was pretty funny. Reading this made me think about that.
Matthew 3:10:45pm on 10/30/2007
Offensive
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