“It is my hope and prayer that many pre-believers will come to the annual evangelistic meeting we’ve planned for tonight”
Only a couple of non-Christians showed up; the rest were their regular church members. No clear vision was communicated about the purpose of the special gathering. Members were simply asked to pray and invite their friends to attend. But they were not motivated to befriend pre-believers weeks before the meeting and through regular prayer and contact accompany them to the event. And at the meeting, to pray them into God’s kingdom.
“I expect our congregation to double in three years’ time”
A noble wish. Wonderful spiritual goal. But three years later, the numbers remained the same. The church was operating in maintenance mode. What the pastor expected was not shared and owned by the congregation. Members comfortably enjoy the spiritual oasis the main service and the small groups provided. If he and a few key leaders were to use and adapt Alpha courses and demonstrate loving relationships, there might be growth. Some will come to Christ and connect with them.
“I believe my Youth Pastor is doing a great job. His weekly reports are spectacular. I’m so proud he’s on our team”
To his dismay and heart-break when this member of his staff team left, the Pastor found his Youth group in disarray. Numbers had plummeted. The Pastor was unaware of the adage “You get what you inspect, not what you expect.” Some folks know how to fob you off with hyped up reporting.
“My vision is to raise 500 Prayer Warriors for our church.”
What a commendable ambition. When the Pastor said this, he had 300 people in his church. Six years later after he first shared his vision, only around 25 members could be regarded as faithful intercessors. When a deacon in his congregation gingerly asked him why his original dream had not been fulfilled, the Pastor cheekily retorted, “I didn’t set a deadline.” Precisely. He was simply pulling an impressive figure out of the proverbial that. There was no strategy to realize his dream. In fact, he rarely mentioned this after two or three initial attempts. His goal was not owned by his members. He forgets that teamwork makes a dream work but a vision turns into a nightmare when the leader had a big dream and an uncommitted team.
Had these case studies (they happen so frequently!) come before a review board in a well-run business, the pastors would have been fired. The problem is they can conveniently hide behind spiritual smokescreens. “Our work is spiritual work. You can’t measure it by quantitative growth. God sees the heart and he values faithfulness more than success.’ Ingenious excuses can easily be multiplied.
“Expect Great Things From God And Attempt Great Things For God.”
Leaders are expected to cast vision and to articulate clear goals. Pastors are aware that the faith factor will prompt them to set big ones.
Are we not permitted set large goals and cherish great expectations? No. Of course, we’ll need the empowering of God’ Spirit to enable us to do it. But leaders have to present their targets with deadlines. Then they must first run through these with their team of co-workers. Together, they should come up with simple and practical steps to implement them. Regular review and feedback will embolden members to make their leaders’ dream, a reality. Otherwise, their vision stems merely from personal impulses, rather than from the Lord.
Like the great missionary William Carey, we should “expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.”
QUOTES from Pastor John Ortberg
Failure does not shape you; the way you respond to failure shape you.
The decision to grow always involves a choice between risk and comfort. This means to be a follower of Jesus you must renounce comfort as the ultimate value of your life.
Pride moves us to bow down before a mirror rather than before God.
One of the great illusions of our age is that hurrying will buy us more time.
We have largely traded wisdom for information, depth for breadth. We want microwave maturity.
God is not interested in your “spiritual life”. God is just interested in your life.
Gratitude is what we radiate when we experience grace. The soul is made to run on grace the way a Jumbo 747 runs on rocket fuel.
99% of failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses (George Washington) You are never a failure until you begin to blame somebody else.
If you think you are leading but no one is following, they; you’re only taking a walk.
A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them and strong enough to correct them.
The revolutionary thinking that God loves me as I am and not as I should require radical re-thinking and profound emotional re-adjustments. Small wonder that the late spiritual giant Basil Hume claimed that Christians find it easier to believe that God exists than God loves them.
Paths without obstacles don’t lead anywhere. To get to the promised land, you have to navigate your way through the wilderness.
Our love grows in intimacy and depth of understanding. What, and who we love shapes us we also shape all and what we love.
Man finds it hard to get what he wants because he does not want the best. God finds it hard to give because he would give the best, and man will not take it.
You will be with you longer than anyone else on the planet, so why not make it a good relationship?
Change can be scary but you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, developing and progressing.
