If you want to know whether balance is important, ask a tightrope walker or a technician who installs new tires on your vehicle. If you want to know whether balance is important, ask a nutritionist who encourages her patients to create balanced, healthy diets. But, if you want to know whether balance is important, you might not want to ask group ministry leaders.
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I listened to the burden of a pastor friend of mine who, through their broken heart, shared the story of a child who has strayed from faith. I have many other friends who tell the same story—they’ve devoted their lives to ministry, only to witness a child of their own take steps away from God.
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If the first church had a website, the tagline “Together” would have been on brand. The community of faith in its earliest days serves as the standard for every local church going forward. However, pastors today are seeing a deepening apathy toward the value and vitality of biblical community. According to the Greatest Needs of Pastors research, 75% of pastors say people’s apathy or lack of commitment is the most challenging people dynamic they deal with in ministry.
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From the beginning of history, God has worked through agents to carry out His mission. Patrick Schreiner, Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Seminary, writes, “[God] enacts His mission and furthers His mission specifically through His people.”
As church leaders, we can confidently tell anyone in the congregation that this is what God wants for them—His will is for their discipleship. But even as we say that, we must recognize that discipleship isn’t something we can manufacture. Despite our efforts, intentions, and programs, the process of a person being conformed to the image of Jesus is not something we can accomplish. That work belongs to the Holy Spirit and Him alone
He’s not like us. We subtly beg for compliments, we subversively seek affirmation, we passive-aggressively look for allies – but not Jesus. Jesus knows what He’s about. And He knows that what He offers is the only thing that truly satisfies.
Most of the mechanisms God uses to transform us into Christlikeness aren’t big; they're small. They are the series of choices we face day after day. This is how Paul described growing in Christ – not as something exciting, but as a methodical process akin to that of athletic training:
Michael Kelley draws from the experience of planting a vegetable garden -- from seeds to harvest -- to reflect on how to cultivate gratitude in one's heart.
Michael Kelley notes how the Herod, volatile and murderous, and Joseph in his humility had something in common: They both recognized they must respond to this infant born in a meager stable.
Michael Kelley ponders whether there is a difference in giving thanks "in" all circumstances and giving thanks "for" all circumstances.
Be careful in the midst of a tragedy, Michael Kelley writes, in how theological insights are placed before those who are hurting.
Michael Kelley ponders the question, Does our work really matter? Remember, he writes, that "God is sovereign. You are created in His image. He is making you more like Jesus. And He is providing for the good of others through your job."
Michael Kelley ponders whether it is possible to "thank your way into a spirit of gratitude, or is doing so disingenuous and fake?" One key, he notes, is to remember that "true gratitude is rooted not in circumstance but in the character of God."
Michael Kelley notes that the Bible conveys wisdom "in keeping your mouth shut. Certainly not all the time, but certainly more than most of us do." A "quietness of speech," he notes, is "a part of growing as a disciple of Jesus."
