Pastor Steven Furtick

Archive for the ‘Ministry Perspective’ Category

Gaps in our Ministry

| Leadership, Ministry Perspective

At its core, ministry is about connecting people to God.

For me, that automatically brings the idea of a bridge to mind. Now of course Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross is the only bridge between God and humanity. But in ministry, we’re connecting people to Jesus, who ultimately connects them to God. So the bridge metaphor is apt.

If ministry serves as a bridge for people to connect with God, it’s necessary and vital that we are constantly evaluating the structural integrity of what we’re working with. Even the smallest gap can derail people by the way we do our ministry.

If you think that’s an overstatement or you don’t believe me, let me ask you this:
If you were driving on a bridge, and there was a gap in the bridge, how big would the gap need to be before you wouldn’t want to drive on it?

The truth is it doesn’t take but one small gap in this whole enormous bridge called ‘ministry’ to prevent people from getting to where they’re supposed to go. One gap can cause the whole thing to come unbuckled.

For example, there may be somebody who has been coming to our church, and they love it. But then they try to get in a small group, and we don’t return their email.  Who knows, that may be the end of the line for them when it comes to active participation in a church community. And all because of poor communication.

A small gap. A big difference.

That’s just one example. The same is true when it comes to how we’re treating first-time guests. The quality of our kid’s ministry. And even something as small as the frequency of audio and visual glitches.

Small gaps. Big difference.

What are the gaps in your ministry? What are the holes that people might fall through as you try to connect them with God?

Take a minute today and write all of them down. And then strategize and commit to fixing them. After all, the weaknesses in our churches aren’t just minor deficiencies that need to be acknowledged. They’re gaps that need to be filled.

Resource of the Day: One gap that exists in many ministries is the absence of a commitment to excellence. This past summer, I wrote a post on the importance of excellence and the drive to be the best in everything we do. You can read that post by clicking here.

Exit Ramps

| Leadership, Ministry Perspective

This is a plea that I’m sending out to pastors. It has implications for everyone, but I especially want pastors to take what I am about to say to heart.

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who also pastors a church about creating an environment where people can confess their sin and get help. We both agreed:
The Church has historically done a really bad job at providing exit ramps for people struggling with sin. Especially when it comes to the staff who work in a church.

Pretty much, the choice we give people is A) confess your sin and cataclysmically destroy your entire life, or B) hide your sin and slowly destroy your soul.

What great options those are.

Since option B keeps food on the table and your reputation intact, most go with option B. As a result, people end up either struggling with a hidden sin for the rest of their lives. Or they eventually blow it and when they do, it’s catastrophic – to their family, their church, and themselves.

I’m sorry, but I think we can do better than that. We’ve got to do better than that.

Pastors, we need to provide exit ramps for our people who are really struggling with their sin. A way to gracefully exit their sin without destroying their entire lives. And before it destroys their entire lives. For everyone in general, but our staffs in particular.

Maybe through counseling.
Or a leave of absence.
Or releasing them with every bit of support we can give them and following up with them regularly.

Whatever it is, we don’t always need to provide people with an instant pink slip when they finally work up the courage to come clean. Or when they’re in the initial stages of temptation and are afraid they’re going to give in. That’s how you perpetuate an environment where sin isn’t dealt with until after it’s already had devastating effects.

I’m not saying we need to take away the consequences of someone’s actions. Sometimes the pink slip is necessary and warranted. Obviously every situation is different. I’m not saying you should keep someone on staff who has committed an affair. Or something else like that.

What I am saying is that we’re in the business of rescuing people from their sin.
Not destroying their lives because of it.

That includes the people outside of our church.
And the people in it.
And the people working for it.

Resource of the Day: The most powerful sin in your life is the one you haven’t confessed yet. For some helpful insight into what confession and repentance is, and isn’t, check out this sermon from our Storytellers series last year: Get Naked Like Tiger.

Obedience Creates Opportunity

| Ministry Perspective, Personal Development, Spiritual Growth

His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.
Matthew 25:21

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Luke 16:10

I think there’s a major misconception that exists about how God gives opportunities to His people to do something for Him. Many people want God to first give them great opportunities so they can display great obedience.  But often until then, they won’t be obedient with what they’ve already been given.

Maybe it’s the church planter who wants to preach for 5,000 people before he’ll preach with faithfulness and excellence to 500 people. Or 50 people. Or 5 people.

Maybe it’s the person who would love for God to give him $1 million to be generous with, but won’t even be generous with the paycheck he is receiving right now.

Maybe it’s the college student who is willing to die for his faith in the Middle East, when he can’t even share his faith with his roommate.

If you read the Bible, it’s pretty clear that that’s simply not the way it works with God.

  • Joseph had to be faithful and obedient in slavery and prison before he was put in charge over Egypt.
  • David had to herd sheep before he killed a giant.
  • Stephen had to wait tables for widows before he defended his faith to the masses.

God won’t give you more to do for Him until you can do what He’s already given you to do.

So:
Stop praying for a life of impact and do something impactful.
Stop praying for a bigger platform and use the one you’ve been given.
Stop praying for a better assignment and start performing better with the one you have.

Obedience creates opportunity, not the other way around.

Do something right now with what you have and watch the miraculous power of God multiply what you have. Be obedient with what God has given you, and He’ll give you more to be obedient with.

Resource of the Day: On a related note, before God’s blessings can flow into your life, you have to have a “yes” orientation towards Him. For more on this idea, check out this post I wrote three years ago following a huge weekends of baptisms: God wants a yes.

Grace AND Truth

| Ministry Perspective

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

I thank God for grace. And I thank Him for truth. If it weren’t for His grace, the truth would condemn me. But if it weren’t for the truth, His grace would have no power to change me.

But that’s not just true with me on a personal level. I think it should also dictate our approach to preaching and engaging people on a corporate level.

If you look at how Jesus talked and interacted with people, it’s clear that he held the two in tension. What made Jesus so special was that he didn’t minimize God’s truth. But at the same time he was a friend of sinners who maximized the opportunity for anyone to find grace.

The Church, on the other hand, often minimizes and maximizes one or the other.

Many churches only emphasize grace. They never call people on their sin. They shy away from confrontation. They don’t take stands on tough issues.

The result is that they miss the truth about grace. They forget that grace is power. It is power to save and to transform. To cover all of our sins and remove them from our lives. As I’ve said before, grace isn’t just a cheap perfume you splash on to cover the stench of your sins. It’s the power to change your life from the inside out.

Other churches only emphasize truth. They will take stands, but take them on top of people rather than on God’s word and the cross. They will teach a 37-week series on grace, but forget to give any out to the people who need it the most.

The result is that they strip grace from the truth. They forget that graceless truth might be the worst watered-down truth of all, because it has been neutered of its life-giving power. Truth isn’t meant to only be proclaimed; it’s also meant to be invited into. And that only happens when it is seasoned and saturated in grace.

I want Elevation to be a church that’s all about grace and truth. I want that for every church. Let’s commit to get all up in our people’s business with truth. But let’s also commit to do it in a way that’s full of grace.

Let’s be like Jesus.

Resource of the Day: One common question concerning grace is “can I do anything I want and still be a Christian?” For the answer to this question in a blog post I wrote at the beginning of the summer, click here.