Time is fleeting...
How busy are you? I can almost see you roll your eyes, sigh, and think about all that is on your agenda today…this week. I woke up the other morning at 3:15am thinking of several key projects I had on my list... I wasn’t sure if I would get back to sleep. Too much to think about!
So…where does “time with the Lord” show up on your To Do list? At the top? Near the bottom? Not on the list?
American Gospel singer Larnell Harris sang a song with words from God’s perspective.
I miss My time with you….
And it hurts me when you say
You're too busy, busy trying to serve Me
But how can you serve Me
When your spirit's empty….
When I was manager of Christian radio station KCBI in Dallas, I often told the staff, “We can’t effectively send a message outside the walls of the station that isn’t happening inside the walls.
God’s love? Forgiveness? Grace? Humility? Are these evident in your ministry and in your work? I realized something as I would talk to the staff about that. It first had to begin with me. And it first had to begin with my personal time with God. Bible study. Prayer…and not just talking to God but listening to Him…to what the Lord wants to say to me.
I also realized I had to exhibit Jesus’ nature in my daily life. Love. Forgiveness. Grace. Humility.
The second radio station I ever worked for, while still in college, was a major market secular station. On one wall was a little sign that said:
To err is human; to forgive divine.
Neither are the policies here!
It was meant as a joke, but it still sent the message: Don’t expect any grace in this place.
Martin Luther is quoted as saying,
“If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.”
Well, I’m not in Martin Luther’s realm in my prayer life. But I trust I am moving towards more time with the Heavenly Father…before things become too busy.
God’s best...
To podcast...or not to podcast?
It’s amazing how a new delivery platform can quickly move from obscurity to the forefront of the communication process. We have watched things like WhatsApp take off in other parts of the world before being embraced by those in the United States. Twitter. Instagram. And TikTok. The phenomena of TikTok is seen in its exploding popularity. It has been noted as the most downloaded app of 2020.
So, what about podcasting? It’s been around awhile. Is it trending upward? Are people listening? Is it a viable tool for us in ministry?
Paul McDonald, a media strategist at Infinity Concepts, shared some valuable information about the impact of podcasts today. While this is based on studies in the U.S., there may be some insight for all of us in Christian media.
A listening study is cited by Paul that shows podcasting to represent about six percent of all audio listening. That doesn’t sound too impressive. Six years earlier podcasting commanded only two percent of the audio listening experience, so it is growing. Where McDonald’s study gets interesting is when he begins to look at various demographic groups and their listening habits.
“Nearly two-thirds of podcast listeners are younger than 45 years old, and almost 50% are younger than 34. Finally, almost one-fifth of listeners are 21 or under. Nearly two-thirds of Millennials and over half of Gen Zers say they use podcasts to learn about social issues, and nearly two-thirds of both groups feel that audio formats like podcasts are one of the greatest ways to tell stories.”
That last sentence got me thinking. How will we reach the younger generation with the Gospel? Often it is through the stories of the Bible itself. And through the stories of changed lives. My friend Dr. Hannu Haukka and his Great Commission Media Ministry has held massive media campaigns in over 100 major cities of the world. They use many different media platforms to alert people to the hope available to them. The backbone of the evangelistic campaign is a 100-page book produced for each city called “The Power to Change.” The book is filled with stories of lives changed by the power of the Gospel of Christ. Powerful stories. Life changing stories. Stories that might lend themselves to podcasts for further impact and influence, especially of those in the younger demographic.
Though the Apostle Paul didn’t have a podcast, I believe if he were with us today he certainly would. Why? Because he told his friends in Corinth that he was willing to use every possible means so that the hope of Christ might be embraced by many of those who hear.
I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some.
1 Corinthians 9:22 NET
It sounds like Paul was willing to explore every means possible so that people would have the opportunity to hear the Word of God. And with that hearing came the opportunity to accept the gift of salvation. By all means. By every method. By today’s latest technology and trend. Even podcasting.
Paul McDonald concluded his brief report on podcasting this way:
“If you want to become an influencer, especially reaching young minds with a biblical worldview, now is the time to start podcasting.”
So...to podcast or not to podcast? That is the question. And it is one that may have eternal impact on a soul searching for meaning...real meaning... in our challenging world.
God’s best...
Some lessons are hard...very hard!
It will soon be a full year that my sweet wife Judy has struggled physically. Four hip replacement surgeries in eight weeks...due to a fall and to dislocations that couldn’t be put back in place. That meant five hospital stays (including a rehab hospital), four ambulance trips...all in two months...and then the long process of physical therapy to get Judy back to full mobility. When she got home, everything had to be relocated to one floor of our house, since she couldn’t climb steps.
Then Texas was hit with some of its coldest winter days ever. Water pipes froze and burst, flooding many homes...including that one floor we were living on. We were forced into a hotel stay for about six months while the house was being rebuilt and restored.
While there, it became obvious that the confusion and brain fog Judy was experiencing was something more than just the result of medications. Scans revealed that excess fluid on the brain was pressing in and causing a form of dementia. By God’s grace, we were led to a gifted brain surgeon who performed a procedure to take care of that problem. Like a miracle of God, Judy’s mental capacity returned to normal, and she is gaining more and more mobility.
Hard lessons for us...but powerful lessons.
I haven’t shared all this for sympathy or pity for Judy and me. At every turn, through every trial, we have seen God’s hand at work. I could tell you of miracle after miracle we observed even in the midst of very hard days. Again and again, we could declare, God is good!
One of the main lessons we have learned is that our Lord’s ways are so far above us.
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
Romans 11:33 NLT
For instance, I prayed with the orthopedic surgeon from India who had to do those multiple surgeries. I could assure him that there were people in his hometown in India that were praying for him. After an extremely difficult procedure this gifted doctor expressed to me, “Someone was guiding me during that surgery.” I quickly agreed, put my arm around him, and told him I wanted to give thanks to the Lord for using this skilled physician to do His work. Peter said we should be ready to share with others the source of our hope. I could share with many of the medical personnel we met though this ordeal our thanks for them, but that our ultimate hope was found in Jesus.
Multiple times we have seen God bring people across our path and into our lives that we would have never met without the trials we were experiencing. A building contractor working on our home. Hotel people that have become like family, and others for whom we have prayed and shared our source of joy. Therapist, home health people, and many others. It has been amazing to see the Lord at work that way.
Here is something else we learned. We have known it theoretically. We have sung the hymn through the years:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
You see, the more we understood that the Lord was bringing us new assignments, the less we thought about our “problems.” The more we used these unusual encounters to share our hope in a loving God, the more our afflictions diminished. We came to understand they were God’s opportunities to let His love and grace be reflected into the lives of people we would have never met were it not for our struggles.
The things we have faced this past year have come nowhere near what the Apostle Paul dealt with throughout his life. But we better understand his perspective about afflictions.
For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NLT
Hard lessons? Absolutely. Not ones I would want Judy...or me...to have to go through again. But we have a real sense of joy that God could use our “light afflictions” to bring glory to our Lord, and to allow us to share our hope with those He has brought into our lives.
...the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
God’s best...
An absurd To Do list...
How long is your To Do list? What important things are on that list? Does your list include anything absurd? How about this one:
- Praise God
- Fight enemy
- Chase lion down into a pit on a snowy day
- Kill lion
- Pick up milk and bread
- Meet with staff
- Etc.
Wait! What’s that about chasing a lion down into a pit...on a snowy day...and killing it? That’s absurd. Yet God’s Spirit included that bit of information about a man named Benaiah, not once, but twice in Scripture. (2 Samuel 23:20, 1 Chronicles 11:22) What is all that about? If you read on, you learn that God was preparing Benaiah for other assignments to come with King David.
Pastor and author Mark Batterson has written a book based on the incident mentioned, and he draws some interesting insight from that passage. Reading the book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, you may find you agree with one who wrote this about Batterson’s book:
“You will look back longingly on risks not taken, opportunities not seized, and dreams not pursued. Stop running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path.”
What does God want to do through you that requires something that may scare you? If we are honest, we want to be successful in ministry and in life. But the definition of success depends on who you are and whose you are. Mark Batterson defines it this way:
"Do the best you can with what you have where you are.
In essence, success is making the most of every opportunity."
Even if that opportunity ends up being in a pit on a snowy day with a lion? Maybe especially if it ends up with you being in a pit on a snowy day with a lion.
Batterson sums up some of his ideas with these thoughts for those he calls “lion chasers:”
- God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. But the right place often seems like the wrong place, and the right time often seems like the wrong time.
- Goodness is not the absence of badness. You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right. Our calling is much higher than simply running away from what’s wrong. We’re called to chase lions—to look for opportunities in our problems and obstacles, and take risks to reach for God’s best.
- When we don’t have the guts to step out in faith and chase lions, then God is robbed of the glory that rightfully belongs to Him.
- Spiritual maturity is seeing and seizing God-ordained opportunities.
OK...so you think this is crazy talk. God would never put you in that kind of a situation. First of all, I would probably run from the lion...or worse, I would stay in the pit with the lion and die. But then there is that verse we probably all know:
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 NLT
If it is God’s assignment, His challenge, His adventure for you, the Lord will supply all you need to accomplish His will in your life.
So, what is your pit? Where is your lion? What challenge has God placed before you? And what is the Lord preparing you for through your snowy pit experience?
God’s best...
Who's creative?
When I teach in seminars and university classes, I often ask people to raise their hand if they think they are creative. Usually a few hands go up, some hesitating as they do so. Then I ask, “Who thinks they are not creative?” Again, several hands are raised into the air, sometimes very emphatically. I know what they are thinking. “I’m not an artist or sculptor. I don’t write poetry or music. I’m not creative.”
I usually get a funny look when I ask the next question. “How many of you had a conversation with someone else today?” And I explain that the act of putting words into meaningful sentences is an act of creativity. Day in and day out we are constantly creating things.
We know that God is a creative God. We learn that from the very first verse in His Word:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 NLT
God...our creative God...has built into each of us a level of creativity. Since He is creative, we who are made in His image are also creative.
Yes, there are different areas and different levels of creativity. Some may find their creative ability in art, or in music, or in the written word. And some have spent time developing that creativity so that they excel in their craft. The bottom line is...we are all creative. God gives us our skills and abilities to use for His purpose. I think of the men whom the Lord prepared to help Moses build the tabernacle. Bezalel and his apprentice Oholiab, who is also named by the God.
The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman...
Exodus 35:31-32 NLT
Our creative Lord has put in you the ability to create. It is yours to develop. English psychologist Edward de Bono helps us grasp this:
“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”
Management guru Peter Drucker understood this in the business realm. He calls creativity “innovation.”
“Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service.”
So, what does this have to do with you as you lead in ministry? Everything. If you continue to look at the work the same way every day, there will be a repetitive sameness to what you do. In the media realm this can be a pathway to mediocracy. It is the easy way. The path of least resistance. Yet there is nothing fresh for others to see or hear. What we need is a pathway to excellence that points people to Jesus.
The Lord explained this to Isaiah:
For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19 NLT
People today are living in a dry wasteland. Many go about their existence wandering in the wilderness without hope. Without a fresh outlook. Without Christ. We have the opportunity to creatively show them there is a better path that leads to the river of life found only in Jesus Christ. But we need to develop our creativity to give those lost souls a fresh look at our creative Lord Jesus.
Are you creative? Yes! What will you do today to develop and put to use the creativity God has placed in you?
God’s best...
So... you’re a leader?
My pastor of many years was a wise man. A leader. And funny. I remember him once saying, “I’m the leader of this church! And if I look around and see the church is not following me...I’ll just run around and get back in front of them!” He understood a leader must have followers. You may have a title, but that doesn’t automatically make you a leader. Management expert Peter Drucker says, “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers." True, but maybe a bit simplistic. John Maxwell puts it this way: "Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less."
Influence. That’s an important concept for any leader.
Richard and Henry Blackaby wrote a book in 2004 called Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda that has some amazing insights for leaders today.
“The twenty-first century provides unprecedented opportunities for leaders to impact positively their organizations. However, the new millennium also brings unforeseen challenges to leaders. The digitized nature of the twenty-first century has created increasing expectations among followers, and the unrelenting advances of technology has made communications both a blessing and a curse.”
Even in those early years, these spiritual leaders were already seeing the growing communication world as a plus and a minus in the area of leadership.
The Center for Creative Leadership lists what they see as the characteristics of a leader:
- Integrity
- Ability to delegate
- Communication
- Self-awareness
- Gratitude
- Learning agility
- Influence
- Empathy
- Courage
- Respect
I love that integrity is right at the top. Other key words to me are communication, gratitude, influence, courage, and respect. How do you measure up on these qualities of a true leader?
One of the more popular concepts of leadership over the past 20 years is that of a servant leader. Many in Christian ministry understand that concept quickly and recognize the biblical foundation for that important quality of a leader. And many successful secular companies have effectively embraced servant leadership in their organizations. What is a servant leader? Here is a good explanation:
A servant leader’s focus is on serving others rather than serving themselves or being served by others. A servant leader meets people where they are so they can climb to the top alongside them rather than charging ahead.
Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, sums up great qualities for those of us in leadership:
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Philippians 2:3-4 NLT
So, you’re a leader? How do you measure up? What can you do differently today that will help you be the godly influence the Lord wants you to be?
God’s best...
Don’t drop the ball...
Kaelin Clay played American football at both the college and professional level. He finished his college career at the University of Utah and gained notoriety in a game with the University of Oregon. It was a defining moment for Kaelin...but one he probably wishes hadn’t happened. In that important game, Clay got in the open, caught a beautifully thrown pass, and was in the clear to the goal line to score a touchdown. The crowd went wild. The Utah team and fans celebrated the score…but on the field, something was happening. What the TV cameras didn’t catch the first time was Clay beginning his touchdown celebration too early, letting go of the football before crossing over the goal line. And what the opposing Oregon team realized is that if they picked up the ball, they could run the other way and possibly score. And that is exactly what happened. What could have put Utah up 14-0 turned into a 7-7 tie at that point...and Utah would eventually lose that game.
You may not be into American football, but like many things in life, there is something to be learned. A life lesson.
You are way ahead of me, aren’t you?
Finish well. Don’t quit too soon. Don’t celebrate before you should, and don’t give the opponent…the enemy…an opportunity to score against you. Don’t fumble your opportunity.
Finish well.
My friend Robert Wolgemuth has recently written a book called The Gun Lap: Staying in the Race with Purpose. In track and field races, the final lap of a race around a track is marked by the firing of a gun as the lead runner starts the final lap to the finish line. It lets the runners know this is the last time around the track. And often you see the good runners kick it into another running gear. It is all about finishing well.
The Apostle Paul no doubt had that in mind when he told young Timothy:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;”
2 Timothy 4:7 NASB
To be honest, there are times when I got close to a goal, but didn’t finish well, didn’t finish the course. Not a good thought. Yet, I have some good news for you and for me: the game isn’t over. We might stumble…and fumble…and feel defeated. But it doesn’t have to end that way.
In a previous letter to Timothy, Paul gives him strong instructions about the battle that is the Christian life:
But you, Timothy, man of God.... Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:11-12 MSG
A 15th century Italian priest, Lorenzo Scupoli, gave a short list of things needed for the spiritual battles that come to all of us, the things that would keep us from completing the task, from finishing well. In his book, The Spiritual Combat, Scupoli says:
Begin by equipping yourself with four weapons that are necessary for victory in spiritual combat:
- Distrust yourself
- Have confidence in God
- Use your body and mind properly
- Pray
Great reminders for us if we are to finish strong and not fumble before crossing the goal line.
Vision…right or wrong?
It’s often misused. The Scripture on vision.
Where there is no vision, the people perish….
Proverbs 29:18 KJV
Business and ministry leaders have often quoted that verse and then proceeded to share their vision for the company or the organization. Right…or wrong? At my most generous I would say partly right. Vision is important. And few organizations, corporations, or ministries can move forward without some direction. But is it any old vision? Is it just someone’s good idea? Or is it God’s idea?
That is where we often go wrong in quoting this verse and applying it to moving our ministries forward. We have committees, think tanks, focus groups, or leadership groups that gather and thrash out their vision, including their latest vision statement. To the degree that we don’t consult God and seek His direction, we can be leading our organizations off in the wrong direction with the right purpose in our heart. Sincere…but sincerely wrong.
Henry and Richard Blackaby address this in their book Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda:
Vision is crucial for an organization. Its source is God’s revelation of his activity…. When leaders successfully communicate vision to their people, it will be God who sets the agenda for the organization, not the leader, and the people will know it is God.
What do we want to pass on to our people…our best thinking or God’s agenda? They are not automatically the same.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”
Isaiah 55:8 NLT
Yes, leaders can come up with a vision, but leaders cannot come up with God’s will on their own. It must be revealed by God.
How does the Lord reveal His will and His agenda? Look around. What is God doing in your ministry right now? What have you seen as a leader that was obviously from the Lord? Are you communicating that to your staff? To your leadership? To those who support the ministry work to which God has called you? That is your best way to move people on to God’s agenda. Communication is key.
Again, the Blackabys underscore the importance of communicating as a leader. “You cannot be a poor communicator and a good leader.” And they expand on that thought in their book:
Spiritual leaders don’t just tell stories for the sake of telling stories. They rehearse what God has done, they relate what God is doing, and they share what God has promised to do…. People don’t have to buy into a vision; they simply have to see that God is making a promise.
As I think of all this, I realize that my vision is very limited. I can only see so far. And my imagination is also dwarfed by what God has in mind. Do I want what my finite mind can come up with…or do I want to move toward God’s amazing agenda?
God’s best...
Things not worth doing...
I love the quote from Ken Blanchard and others.
Things not worth doing are not worth doing well.
Have you ever come to the end of the day and wondered what you have accomplished? I have. Oh, sure, I filled my day with “stuff.” But what did that stuff all amount to? Sometimes we obsess on getting something done well that didn’t need to be done at all. Or, could have been done by someone else (probably better).
Blanchard says, “Today people are often busy doing what seems to be extremely urgent but really isn’t. They spend a great deal of time moving paper rather than listening to their people....” (Ken Blanchard, The Heart of a Leader)
Those last four words are key. Listening to their people. So often we are so focused on accomplishing a goal and building a successful ministry that we use our people instead of loving them and letting them feel good about accomplishing the goal. We dictate jobs and set timetables.
So how does a leader actually lead? One important ministry truth is that people need to like the leader they serve. Then they will follow, not out of duty or compliance or a paycheck, but out of a sense of mission set by a someone they admire. John Maxwell talks about the charisma that a leader needs:
“THE GREATEST LEADERS HAVE IT—that special quality that causes people to be drawn to their magnetic personalities.... We all have the potential to develop this quality that makes the difference between personality and personality plus.”
- Be a People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships
This doesn’t mean that you have to become something you aren’t. It means you may need to develop some of the areas of your personality that help draw people to you and causes them to want to follow you. Nothing fake here...genuine care and concern for others.
Maxwell goes on to offer this acrostic for the word “charisma:”
- Concern
- Help
- Action
- Results
- Influence
- Sensitivity
- Motivation
- Affirmation
Without going into great detail, these are areas that can be developed in you that will ultimately help your ministry and your people who serve with you. You might examine your personality and style of leadership, then take two or three areas where you could improve. Maybe areas like concern, or sensitivity, or affirmation. What would it mean to your staff if you took time to learn what things outside of work concerned them most? A brief time of prayer with this person about these things would be a great step toward building a better and more productive relationship.
A word of caution. Don’t do this with a sense of manipulation. There has to be real concern for the person and not just what they can do for the ministry. Jesus modeled this in the love and concern He showed for friends like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He wept real tears and experienced fellowship and joy with them, too. Then there is John, often referred to as the apostle that Jesus loved. So much so that from the cross Jesus gave the assignment to John to care for His mother Mary, which John faithfully did.
Paul gave his Roman friends this advice: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us (Romans 12:3 NLT).
Eugene Peterson expands on that and the surrounding verse with this:
I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him (Romans 12:3 MSG).
If you are at the start of your day as you read this, think of the most important thing you can do today that will show your care and concern for those the Lord has entrusted to you as co-laborers in His work. You may need to go over that To Do list and mark out things you probably shouldn’t be spending your valuable time on anyway.
If it is the close of a busy day, ask yourself, “Did I do the most important things today...or did I just check off the urgent items?”
Then vow moving forward to think of others first and foremost. Remember, there is no virtue in doing well something you shouldn’t be doing at all.
God’s best...
What’s changed?
Has anything changed in the past year? I suspect the answer is a resounding YES! It seems the whole world has adjusted to a new normal due to the global pandemic. Masks. Social distancing. Vaccines. Sheltering and quarantining. These things and more have come to the forefront of our minds and our lifestyles.
So, what about your ministry? How is it different than it was in 2019 before the Covid-19 virus changed our world? I’m not talking about just reacting to the situation...working from home, remote broadcasting, etc. I’m talking about adjusting what you are doing to what the world is doing. How are you communicating the Gospel today to reach people today who need hope today?
Leadership guru John Maxwell put the thought succinctly: “We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.”
Has the traffic pattern of the lives of your listeners and viewers changed due to the pandemic? What do you need to do now to intersect with them with the hope of Christ? Are there different programs you need to produce? Are their new ways to get the message out? Are we holding on to what we already do because it is comfortable? “We know how to do this...and we aren’t sure how to do something new.” That’s not a good place to be. Again, John Maxwell addresses the idea of change: “To be a leader you must be able to create positive change.”
So...do we just think up stuff on our own? Do we glean from what the rest of the world is doing? Or...do we seek what the Lord would have us do to reach a lost and dying world? Scripture reminds us that the Lord Jesus was not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Paul told us he would use any means in order to reach some (1 Corinthians 9:22). That sounds like passion, focus, and creativity...all for the sake of Christ’s Gospel.
And you say, “But I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know if I can do that. I’m not sure I am ‘gifted’ enough to try something new.” You may not be able...but remember, God is able. Dr. Henry Blackaby reminds us that the Lord has a plan and will enable you to accomplish all He wants in and through you.
“Will God ever ask you to do something you are not able to do? The answer is yes—all the time! It must be that way, for God's glory and kingdom. If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory. He wants to reveal Himself to a watching world.”
- Experiencing the Spirit: The Power of Pentecost Every Day by Henry Blackaby
Today, your audience doesn’t need programs. They need Jesus and the power He intends for their lives. Those touched by your ministry don’t need some clever idea. They need the solid truth that there is a God who loves them and a Savior who died so they could live eternally with Him. And for those who embrace that truth...everything changes.
Does that sound hard? It is out of your comfort zone to adjust programming, schedules, and styles for today’s people. J. Oswald Sanders said it well. “The frontiers of the kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution.”
Embrace change. Seek God’s direction daily for your ministry. Keep the audience in mind as you program and produce. Be like the men of Issachar. They understood the times and they knew what should be done (1 Chronicles 12:32).
So... what will change today to reach someone tomorrow?
God’s best...