The number
one reason pastors leave the ministry is discouragement and the biggest
struggle that leads to that discouragement is the difficulty in leading
congregations to follow the pastor’s God-given vision. I don't know of a single
pastor who has not faced this at some point in his ministry.
We must
remember that God is the head coach and pastors are the offensive
coordinators. They get to call the plays but the Lord sends those He
wants on the team. As leaders we know our job is to "equip the
saints" but many times much of the equipping has already been done by the
time they arrive to the church. The Holy Spirit has already given
them gifts, God has blessed them with talents and abilities, each has a certain
personality type, everyone has their own love language, their passions and
many bring much life experience with them when they come. While certainly
there is a place for more learning and training, much of the equipping has
already been done.
Corporately,
the church has one mission: the great
commission. But individual churches may
have specific ministries. It is through these different ministries that
we are given the opportunity to carry out the Lord's mission.
This is also why many times what works in one church may not work in
another. God has a specific purpose for a specific group of
believers in a specific location.
Equipping
the saints-at-large is helping them to discover how God has made them and uniquely
gifted them—their specific place in the body, so to speak—and how this all
comes together and is to be used in God's plan. There is no greater
feeling than knowing you are doing what God created you to do.
The Lord knows what kinds of players He needs to run His offense for your team. When you have a team full of tight ends and run blockers and you try to run a spread offense there is not a lot of victory. Have you ever taken the church through a complete discovery process? There are several different ones out there and we are currently putting together our own to help the churches we serve.
