In the Bourne series, the assassins (who
are the central characters) are referred to by their controlling agency merely
as “assets.” Sometimes I fear that within Christian ministry, we fall into the
terrible habit of treating people as assets — instruments to help us get
ministry done successfully rather than people with souls.
One of the values I remind myself of often is that people
are not a means for getting ministry done.
People are the ministry.
And those who volunteer are not placed in our path to make
us successful, but so that we can help them to grow and to move
forward.
To keep ourselves from the edge of the slippery
slope of using people to get ministry done, it’s important to remember some
hard, unchanging truths …
1. Ministry is about relationships, not
results.
If we think like much of the surrounding corporate world,
as much of the western church does, then we see goals and figures without
seeing people. I’m all for looking at numbers to celebrate and evaluate, but
never for the purpose of determining who is and isn’t useful to the kingdom.
It isn’t about what a volunteer or staff member can
produce in the way of results for us. It’s about what kind of growth we
can help to produce in that leader. Growing leaders typically have growing
ministries, but numerical success is the byproduct of healthy relationships.
2. People are souls, with or without roles.
If we ever leave someone in a role because of their talent
while their personal life is falling apart, we’ve failed. As leaders and
shepherds, it is our calling to create healing and health deep within the souls
of people.
So when people walk into the room, our first question
shouldn’t be are you ready to get to work? It should rather be
something like how’s life going? How’s your soul doing?
3. Jesus modeled people empowerment perfectly.
Jesus wept over people, prayed over people and eventually
died for people. He gave up His time and His comfort to serve others. And He
accepted the rejection, criticism and abandonment that He would receive from
His people, even knowing full well that it was coming.
Then, at the end of His earthly story, He released His
people to go change everything with the gospel. If you want to know how to
empower people, start by looking at Jesus.
4. Everybody matters, and every life has
dignity.
To use anyone for what they can produce, or to reject
someone because we doubt they can produce, is to insult the One who created all
people with inherent dignity.
Moses even learned this lesson when he questioned his own
ability to be a persuasive speaker. God responded simply, “Who made your
mouth?”
In the business world, we select the most qualified. But in
the Kingdom, everybody gets to participate!
5. I’m a people too.
Some awesome mentors and friends have poured into me,
expecting nothing in return. Someone is waiting for me to pay it forward.
It’s the way this idea of ministry is supposed to work.
Don’t use people, empower them.
Brandon Cox is Lead Pastor of Grace Hills Church, a new
church plant in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community
Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox and was formerly
a Pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. In his spare time, he
offers consultation to church leaders about communication, branding, and social
media. He and his wife, Angie, live with their two awesome kids in Bentonville,
Arkansas.
More from Brandon Cox or visit Brandon
at http://brandonacox.com/
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