Lessons From the EastPrimjer

From Controlling to Releasing

If the goal of the local church is to build a large following for the star pastor, the leaders will want to control all the programs and resources. If we encourage people to think, pray, and follow God’s leading, they’ll find all kinds of ways to serve others. One man in our church started taking meals to a couple of older people, and now he has a large and growing ministry providing food for elderly shut-ins. Some women who suffered from abuse when they were young are leading a ministry to help young women escape the sex slave trade. An executive who suffered from neglect when he was a boy has become a mentor for fourth-grade boys. A retired executive in the medical profession and a retired, Spirit-filled pastor have teamed up to start a clinic for people who suffer from diabetes, neuropathy and other debilitating diseases. They believe God heals through divine intervention as well as through the advances of modern medicine. God uses it all. These men have invested a ton of money in their vision, and I celebrate their vision and generosity.

When we release people to dream, pray, and serve, it’s no longer the job of our church staff and board to come up with all the ideas for ministries. Our people are engaged in their domains, and they’re creative enough to come up with plenty of ideas. Our job is to be traffic cops to direct people to the best paths to use their passions, talents, and expertise. We don’t want to control all the traffic. We just want to limit the number of wrecks. We provide some general guidelines, but we don’t feel like we have to stay on top of every person all the time. We treat our people more like teenagers and young adults who are growing in responsibility than like toddlers who need constant supervision. By the way, smaller churches have far more opportunities to operate as a body than large churches. They’re more personal, nimble, and creative.

If the goal of pastors and church leaders is to put on a great service to attract people who will give generously to build even bigger and provide more professional services, these leaders might become successful in growing a very large church, but they will miss the point of the kingdom. The kingdom is bottom up, not top down. It thrives when ordinary people see God use them in their domains of work and relationships, and when they use all their creativity and compassion to make a difference in those arenas. The job of kingdom-oriented leaders isn’t to impress them or control them; it’s to celebrate them, equip them, and release them to do even more for the glory of God.