Belonging (S2) : WK 5 - FRI
(Romans 12:4-5) Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
Crosswalk Point Loma is the sixth church I have had the privilege to pastor. I love what I do. Leading a church is challenging but very rewarding.
Everytime I have gotten to a church, I have gone into analysis mode. I take inventory of what is happening, I identify the needs and I get to work. The pressure to successfully lead and grow the church is what pushes me to get into this mode.
This approach to church growth has brought me some success but what it has also brought me is stress, imbalance, and workaholism. And that is just my own experience. Church leaders and volunteers, at times, have seen the darker side of me where I not only push myself, but push them to the point that church has become more of a chore than a community. I have some regrets when I look back at my career as a pastor and I ask God to forgive me for misunderstanding my calling.
The reason this happened is because I misunderstood a key point in the passage we just read:
“...each part has a special function.”
For many years I thought my function was to do it all. I thought the church could not move forward without my special intervention. It took many years to finally understand that all God needed me to do was to be the pastor. I didn't need to be the worship leader, chairman of the board, fellowship meal director, or prayer ministries coordinator. All of those roles are important, but they aren't my calling.
The passage is very clear, that all the parts of the body have a special function. If I do all the functions, there is no need for the body. So when I lived in my role as pastor, and allowed God to bring up the parts of the body that were needed, that is when significant growth happened.
Are all the roles filled at Crosswalk Point Loma? At the time of writing this lesson they are not. But the body continues to grow and when the time is right, the people who will fulfill those roles will arrive and the ministry of loving well will continue. And it won't be because I had to push.
Crosswalk Point Loma is the sixth church I have had the privilege to pastor. I love what I do. Leading a church is challenging but very rewarding.
Everytime I have gotten to a church, I have gone into analysis mode. I take inventory of what is happening, I identify the needs and I get to work. The pressure to successfully lead and grow the church is what pushes me to get into this mode.
This approach to church growth has brought me some success but what it has also brought me is stress, imbalance, and workaholism. And that is just my own experience. Church leaders and volunteers, at times, have seen the darker side of me where I not only push myself, but push them to the point that church has become more of a chore than a community. I have some regrets when I look back at my career as a pastor and I ask God to forgive me for misunderstanding my calling.
The reason this happened is because I misunderstood a key point in the passage we just read:
“...each part has a special function.”
For many years I thought my function was to do it all. I thought the church could not move forward without my special intervention. It took many years to finally understand that all God needed me to do was to be the pastor. I didn't need to be the worship leader, chairman of the board, fellowship meal director, or prayer ministries coordinator. All of those roles are important, but they aren't my calling.
The passage is very clear, that all the parts of the body have a special function. If I do all the functions, there is no need for the body. So when I lived in my role as pastor, and allowed God to bring up the parts of the body that were needed, that is when significant growth happened.
Are all the roles filled at Crosswalk Point Loma? At the time of writing this lesson they are not. But the body continues to grow and when the time is right, the people who will fulfill those roles will arrive and the ministry of loving well will continue. And it won't be because I had to push.
- How have you seen the church grow this year?
- What special function is God asking you to fill in the body of Christ?
- Ask God to send the right people to your church to fulfill the roles that still need to be filled.
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