In some of my recent reading I ran across a great reminder from John Oman about the 'twin perils of ministry': Flurry and worry.
Often time in this engagement in the 'souls of humankind', I can begin to think more highly of myself than I should. Confession time here. When I found myself in the midst of the whirl and buzz of establishing the Kroc Center ministry in the early days, I thought that I was so inseperable to the process. This place surely couldn't operate successfully without me around. Then I went off to England for 8 weeks at ICO. Funny how the whole place didn't shut down. In fact I called back once during a staff meeting and found out they were all doing fine without me.
This summer I was able to visit Kroc Centers in Chicago, Camden, New Jersey and Philadelphia, PA. It seems the Kroc Center ministry nationwide is just doing super fantastic without my hands getting in the way.
Learning to how to be quiet and sit still to be attuned with God is something not on our natural 'spiritual front burners.' We can make the sad mistake in thinking that we must be and look so busy doing 'godly things' - we flurry about and then become so consumed with our worry - we basically then become ineffective.
I was invited to preach recently in the pulpit of one of my past Corps assignments, Mesa, Arizona. As I stood in the pulpit getting ready to preach, a flood of memories came back. But the one thing that came right to the top of my mind was that this place was functioning and moving along in ministry quite well without me at the helm any more. That is actually biblical. Equipping the saints for the work of the ministry so that it isn't all about me.
What sort of flurry are you involved in? Looking busy to impress or do you slow down to listen? Oman says that flurry disapates energy while worry constipates it.
Are you pausing long enough in the processes of life to listen to God? To do often some self regulation on your own ego?
I need to pause more in my life and have the constant reminder that its 'not about me' but all about Him. If I am in constant motion then I will never get out of the fog that flurry and worry makes for my soul.
Often time in this engagement in the 'souls of humankind', I can begin to think more highly of myself than I should. Confession time here. When I found myself in the midst of the whirl and buzz of establishing the Kroc Center ministry in the early days, I thought that I was so inseperable to the process. This place surely couldn't operate successfully without me around. Then I went off to England for 8 weeks at ICO. Funny how the whole place didn't shut down. In fact I called back once during a staff meeting and found out they were all doing fine without me.
This summer I was able to visit Kroc Centers in Chicago, Camden, New Jersey and Philadelphia, PA. It seems the Kroc Center ministry nationwide is just doing super fantastic without my hands getting in the way.
Learning to how to be quiet and sit still to be attuned with God is something not on our natural 'spiritual front burners.' We can make the sad mistake in thinking that we must be and look so busy doing 'godly things' - we flurry about and then become so consumed with our worry - we basically then become ineffective.
I was invited to preach recently in the pulpit of one of my past Corps assignments, Mesa, Arizona. As I stood in the pulpit getting ready to preach, a flood of memories came back. But the one thing that came right to the top of my mind was that this place was functioning and moving along in ministry quite well without me at the helm any more. That is actually biblical. Equipping the saints for the work of the ministry so that it isn't all about me.
What sort of flurry are you involved in? Looking busy to impress or do you slow down to listen? Oman says that flurry disapates energy while worry constipates it.
Are you pausing long enough in the processes of life to listen to God? To do often some self regulation on your own ego?
I need to pause more in my life and have the constant reminder that its 'not about me' but all about Him. If I am in constant motion then I will never get out of the fog that flurry and worry makes for my soul.
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