Element Church Insider

Ready for this?  We need reminded of this often…maybe MOST OF ALL for those of us in ministry.  It doesn’t matter if you are a pastor of a large church or a large pastor in a small church.  It doesn’t matter if you lead a small group or lead a group of small people.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re the president of the women’s ministry or a woman in the precedence ministry (That’s the ministry many churches have.  You know the one that says “That’s the way we’ve always done it”  Precedence.  Get it?) Here’s the reality:

GOD DOESN’T NEED ME! Hear that?  He doesn’t need me.  Oh, He WANTS to be used through me.  He WANTS to do great things through me.  He wants to accomplish His purpose through me.  But make NO bones about it.  HE DOESN’T NEED ME!  And the moment I begin to think He does, I need a dose of reality.

People often think leaders of large ministries are the only ones who struggle with this.  But I know there are leaders of small ministries who think “If I weren’t here who would lead these people?”  Leaders of small groups say “If I weren’t here who would teach these people?”.  People who give financially “If I didn’t give would fund these people?”  The answer?  THE SAME STINKIN’ PERSON WHO DID BEFORE I GOT HERE!  GOD!  We MUST get past the “they need ME” syndrome, and surrender to the “They need GOD” syndrome.

Read the story of King Saul for a little dose of reality.  I think Saul forgot where he came from.  NOTHING!  God selected him to be king of Israel from the smallest tribe and the least important family in that tribe (That from Sauls own mouth in 1 Samuel 9:21).  THEN, when Saul was introduced to Israel as King they couldn’t find him, until he was revealed to be hiding among the baggage (1 Samuel 10:21-24).  But soon he became a mighty king.  A great leader.  And it all went to his head.  He ended up disobeying God’s instructions and leading to stroke his own ego.  The result?  GOD FOUND SOMEONE ELSE!

1 Samuel 13:13-14 “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you.  Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.  But now your kingdom must end.  For the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.

1 Samuel 15:26-28 …”Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, He has rejected you as King of Israel…The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you.”

God doesn’t need me.  He needs OBEDIENCE!  Element Church doesn’t need me.  Cheyenne doesn’t need me.  God’s Kingdom doesn’t need me.  You know what they need?  GOD!  He’d find someone else if I failed and He’d find someone else if I rebelled.  He chose to place me in leadership and He can choose to remove me if He wishes.  I’m such a tiny, TINY part of God’s Kingdom.  I need to remember that.  WE need to remember that.  We sometimes need a little dose of reality.

We need to take our calling and leadership VERY VERY seriously.  But we do that by viewing ourselves in light of REALITY and ETERNITY.  I’ll stand before God one day, and be accountable ONLY for my obedience to HIM and the way I stewarded the leadership HE gave me.  NOT by how much I THINK they needed me.

Reality CHECKED,

Jeff