Saturday
Sep042010
Saturday Links
Saturday, September 4, 2010 at 5:00AM Your Weaknesses Are Not What You are Bad At
Lloyd-Jones on the Primary Mission of the Church
Book Trailer for Church Planter
Evangelicalism and Postmodernism
How the Digital Revolution Changed Our World
Clarity Seeking God’s Glory: A Discussion on Writing Well
Free from ChristianAudio.com this month: Spiritual Leadership
Reader Comments (2)
Re: The Tired Leader. Even Jesus tried, on at least one occasion (Mark 6:30), to get away for a break, but could not because the crowds found him and he responded to their need. This wasn't poor planning (although I do not plan well) nor was it a lack of strategic thinking (again, something I do not do well). It was a matter of compassion.Who should I have said "no" to this week? The 11 year old girl in the hospital with kidney disease? The heart attack at the hospital at 1:00 a.m? The schizophrenic in depression who called me at my home at 9:30 p.m? The member of our church on welfare who needed money for groceries, and prayer regarding her psychosis? (Standing in the lobby of her ill maintained apartment building watching cockroaches, makes it hard to say "Next time I'll just say no". The reason she needed grocery money was because she had put a "down payment" on a portable air conditioner). The frightened abused wife going to divorce court, who didn't want to be in the same room with that man without support? The young man in criminal court who deserves more than what his sentence was but whose parents are beside themselves trying to figure out how to help him? The couple needing marriage counseling? The planning meeting with a church leader? Lunch and prayer with my friend? Or maybe I'll say no to the church about preaching tomorrow. Not every week is like this one of course, but my point is that it is hard to know who to say no to. Some of these meetings were planned ahead and the appointments were kept. The others came up as emergencies. Sometimes even Jesus had to change His mind about getting away. But some ministries just seem to be a series of emergencies and it is hard to know how to respond. I do not resent my work. I do not harbour ill feelings to my very needy people. But I do wrestle with solutions that make it sound very easy to make decisions like this.I know there will be some who will talk about such things needing to be delegated and my work being prayer and the ministry of the Word. All these things were prayer and the ministry of the Word. And delegation is happening. I do not do visits where there are not emergencies that need to be dealt with. Others in the church do the less urgent visits. It's just that the urgent ones are constant.Yes, I am tired. And I know that it is up to no one but me to deal with the matter of getting enough rest. I will try to get away and rest awhile. And sometimes I do steal away to secret places to just think and meditate. But the crowds eventually find me and no one with a heart of Christian compassion would turn these poor souls away. There are some things more important than me getting rest; more important than 40 hours a week; more important than my own mental, physical and emotional well being. God uses the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. I am the biggest "are not" on the planet and this week God used me to help the lonely, the forgotten, the poor, the abused, the angry, the fearful, the sick, and the weak. God does not do this to me every week. But the people I help live in their crisis 24/7. They are worth a little fatigue.
[...] anonymous pastor posted a comment here on Saturday: Who should I have said “no” to this week? The 11 year old girl in the [...]