“Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” Colossians 4:17
“Take heed” means to consider, to think about, to look out for.
Literally, it means “to see” your ministry.
I must take regular, intentional time to think about, pray about, plan, and prepare my ministry – the ministry the Lord Jesus has assigned to me – or I may be in danger of missing the mark.
Intentional, thoughtful service is a hallmark of a mature believer.
When do you take time to think deeply and pray earnestly about your ministry?
People follow leaders that they can trust and respect.
Trust is based on integrity and respect is based on vision.
A leader with no integrity will soon have no followers. Even more so a leader with no vision.
Jesus is the greatest leader Who ever lived, and this is what Isaiah said about Him:
In mercy the throne will be established; And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, Judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.
Isaiah 16:5
Mercy. Truth. Justice. Righteousness.
That is a Leader I am grateful to be following for all eternity!
Senate Chaplain Barry Black opened Day 6 of the Senate Impeachment Trial of President Donald Trump with this prayer:
LET US PRAY. ETERNAL GOD, THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. UNITE OUR SENATORS IN THEIR STRIVING TO DO YOUR WILL. LORD, YOU HAVE BEEN OUR HELP IN AGES PAST. YOU ARE OUR HOPE FOR THE YEARS TO COME. WE TRUST THE POWER OF YOUR PREVAILING PROVIDENCE TO BREAK THIS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL TO THE CONCLUSION YOU DESIRE. LORD, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE NOT OUR THOUGHTS. AND YOUR WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS. FOR AS THE HEAVENS ARE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH, SO ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HIGHER THAN OUR THOUGHTS. AND YOUR WAYS HIGHER THAN OUR WAYS. LORD, WE LOVE YOU. EMPOWER OUR SENATORS, RENEW THEIR STRENGTH. WE PRAY IN YOUR DEPENDABLE NAME, AMEN.
In this prayer Chaplain Black uses Biblical language directly from John 14:6, Isaiah 55:8-9, Isaiah 40:31, in addition to quoting a traditional Christian hymn from Isaac Watts, who drew from Psalm 90 for the lyrics. Clearly, a prayer to the God of the Bible was offered in Congress.
My immediate response upon listening to Chaplain Black’s prayer above was one of elation. What a wonderful moment where our country officially, publicly acknowledged the God of the Bible and called for His help in a national arena!
My next response was confusion. How is this possible? How could the same Senators, many of whom repeatedly fight against the expression of Christianity and the Bible in public places, allow such a prayer to happen?
How can prayer be allowed in Congress and not in public schools? It seems incongruous.
The answer, legally, comes from the Supreme Court. In a landmark ruling “Marsh vs Chambers” the Court ruled that “legislative prayer” is a different form and function that other public prayer, serving a more civic duty than a religious one. The Court held that legislative prayer was part of the “fabric of society” and thus admissible.
However, I am still confused.
If it can be ruled by the Supreme Court of the United States that Congressional prayer is acceptable due to its historical role in American society, why cannot the same argument be made for public prayer of all types?
I would call the situation astounding.
Regardless, I think we as believers can take great solace in the fact that there is still a remnant of Truth being proclaimed from the highest national platform, and that Truth expanding even further into the public sphere is not outside the realm of possibility. Be encouraged!
Whenever you lead people, those people will inspire you with their dedication. They will also frustrate you with their failures. Both of these realities are part of the human experience.
Jesus must have been elated and frustrated with His disciples, sometimes in the same day. Sometimes they messed up so bad it was unbelievable.
In that moment, the leader has a choice.
When someone you are leading frustrates you, you have two choices: remove them from the problem or coach them into solving the problem.
The former is what would feel good, even right in the moment. The latter is the selfless, Christ like choice that takes the long-view.
Help your people get better, and in the end everyone wins. Coach them, and they will rise to the next level. Hopefully, someone is doing the same for you.
Somewhere along the line, leaders (all leaders) fall into the trap of thinking that we must have all the answers to all the questions to validate our leadership. It’s a trap because that’s not the true value point of leadership.
Leadership is not about having all the answers. It’s about leading people to answer the right questions.
Leadership is not about being correct. It’s about being the first to go. Leaders don’t always know the next step. They do know the final destination.
Leaders don’t have all the answers. They gather people toward a common vision.
Stop being paralyzed by trying to be smarter than everyone else. Focus your energy on leading others forward in the vision. You’ll find the answers together along the way. That’s leading.
Imagine there is a missionary who works for 30+ years. At the end of his ministry he has a team of people around him helping him. Everything from clerical to financial to ministry was taken care of – all led by competent, professional servants of God. Compare that to another missionary, who at the end of his 30+ years has only one person left on his team; only one person who has remained with him until the end. How would you compare the two?
