Close Disciple or Fearful Follower? Taking a New Path in Ministry

I really love the spiritual concept of calling. I have experienced a variety of callings: marrying Chip, staying at home, working, being a part of our church, and more. I am so thankful that God beckons me and you into and out of seasons. Some seasons longer than others. I recently experienced God calling me to a change in seasons, and then within the new season He called me to a new path. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am meant for The Body--I am meant for ministry. Ministry is a path I am on with Jesus. It’s one of serving and one of following Him. I heard Him so clearly say, "You will find Me in abiding, and you will follow Me in ministry."

The Gospel of Mark is such an interesting one for those of us in ministry because it’s all about serving. I think someday I will write a Bible Study on Mark geared towards people who serve in ministry (which really is all of us as believers). It's been amazing to see Jesus in this light. In Mark, God reveals Jesus as The Servant. To see Christ as Servant shows us how to be a servant of God. It also shows us how free Christ was as He was bound to God and the rescue mission of the Gospel. 

 

In regards to following Him on a new path in ministry, here is something I have learned. By the tenth chapter of Mark, the disciples had had an epic experience with Christ. They had followed Him on a ministry path and He had stretched them as men, as faithful Jews, as disciples, as those seeking for the Messiah. He had offered them truth, and miracles, and a relationship. Remember, they too had been called. And the Story takes a turn at Mark 10:32. They stood at a crossroads.

"They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid." (Mark 10:32)

This small verse packs a powerful truth for you and me in ministry. Jesus was leading the way. It was a new path, but the path still had the same mission: love, speaking truth, service, obedience, and sacrifice. The new path was not an easy path. It was a path to Jerusalem, a path with Jesus to His cross. The disciples would find themselves, like Christ would, asking for another way, tired, praying a ton, trying to go to places of comfort with people of comfort so that they could sort things out and find or know God in the midst of it.

Have you felt this way? You’ve been following Christ, and now you are called to ministry. Or you have been in ministry, but God has a fresh path in front of you within your ministry or calling. There's a new level of what’s being asked of you as you are serving. You have the same mission as Christ and the disciples: it's a gospel mission to love, speak truth, serve, obey God in relationships and authentic living, and sacrifice. And like them you find yourself at times asking for another way, feeling tired, praying a ton, and going to places/people of comfort in the discomfort or unfamiliarity of this new path.

Look at Mark 10:32, the followers of Christ had two reactions to this change in course.

The disciples, those who followed Him so closely, saw only Him and His wonder. They were astonished. They looked at Him.

Those that followed less intimately or from a distance took steps, but stopped at the crossroads and stood in fear. They looked at the place and the unknown.

God has called us to ministry. We are invited to journey with Jesus to places He leads. We have two choices: abide and exalt or fear.

The disciples were the close ones. They walked so closely that they could only see Him. Walking closely is what’s called abiding. Disciples abide. Their circumstances, the bold truth, the deeper serving, the authentic living with it's challenges to their pride and past, the toughness of the road, and even the future of the cost of following Him paled in comparison to Him and His wonder.

I think we, like the followers, often live the other. We have seen His miracles, heard His teaching, watched Him be all of Who He is right where we live. We have seen Him be powerful in the lives of those around us. We follow, we believe. But at the crossroads, we slow our pace a bit. Why? Fear. We say in our hearts, "What about…?" (this, that, them, me, the cost, the distance, the direction, the time, the sacrifice, the risk in relationship, the level of service, if it/I fail) We let fear become our focus and the vision of Jesus is blurred. We follow, but at a distance. Christ beckons us for more. He wants to give us a vision of Himself and His glory! That requires faith as He leads and closeness in abiding as we follow.

It feels so vulnerable to go on a new path with only faith and abiding, to only go with the promise of Jesus. Yet it feels so faithful of God, when we will do just that, that He still calls us to love, speak truth, serve and sacrifice, and obey Him. It's in that abiding and love, truth, service, sacrifice, and obedience where we see Him.

When we experience the wonder of our God, and have faith experiences that are rooted in Who He Is, those are meant to be shared. We get to lift Him up for all to see, or exalt Him. Isn't that what ministry is all about? Following our Savior to the new places with the same mission He had, and sharing it? Just like Christ and the disciples our journey in ministry always takes us to the place outside Jerusalem where the Lamb was slain for the sin of the world. A place of cost and sacrifice. A place of utter dependence on the Gospel. Oh, but He didn't stay dead! He lives, to intercede for you and me in this journey with Him. He is near and glorious right where we are. He desires to reveal Himself in the midst of whatever we are experiencing in this new path so we can have a faith experience with Him and know His nearness right now. Then we can share and exalt Him not just in our hearts but in front of others.

I have been called to be a disciple. To walk closely to Jesus. Look at Him. Spend time with Him. Exalt Him--find ways to praise Him right now in this circumstance. Find freedom in being bound to God and His Gospel mission. When I am a disciple, the rest of it will fade away, including fear and concern and the toughness of the road, and I will see and know HIM. The cost will be met in the awe and wonder of Christ and then I can make Him known.

I was afraid. Now I am quickening my pace.

Just another seed of my faith,

Ginny

10 Leadership Lessons...so far - #5: Shepherding vs. Sheep dogging

In my last leadership lesson I shared a story at the end. I told you that story to help you see the principle of washing feet, but I want you to know that it wasn't always like that for me. Knowing how to wash feet or how to lead people effectively did not come easily for me. For every one story like that there were several that were very unlike that, full of mess and mistakes, re-conversations and bumpy roads to hopefully better ministry. Such is leadership, right? We fail as humans and press into the One Who never fails as He teaches us His way. Washing feet and leading others in ministry are things I still have to work at and areas where God is still faithfully teaching me.

 

About ten years ago someone finally named a part of my gifting: shepherding. I had a very limited understanding of spiritual gifts and thought, that of the ones I knew about, I just didn't fit well. Along came shepherding and so much about how God had made my new creation made a lot more sense! I was given a chance to explore shepherding more fully when God gave me a growing responsibility within an organization of people, about people, for people. Here's what I learned.

 

As a leader, you are a shepherd. Remember, we don't get to disengage and just lead. I recently saw multiple posts on facebook with a picture that showed the difference between a boss and a leader. It looked Egyptian, and in the first picture the boss is sitting at a desk pointing ahead. The desk is on top of a flat being pulled by the minions that work for the boss. In the picture below it, the boss is titled leader and is at the head of the group pulling the weight of the flat with his people pulling behind him. He is still pointing ahead, but you clearly see the difference. Just like our Good Shepherd in John 10, we are leading and should be calling our people to follow, pointing the way.

 

Through simple logic, if you are a shepherd, God has given you sheep. You have a job to lead and care for your sheep, and by the design of this relationship, they should follow your lead. You are leading them to new places, better places, greener places; you desire good for them and for the people they are impacting or for the mission and vision they are realizing. They have their faces in the fields of your ministry and could tell you a ton about the feasting and the dirt associated with ministry. They know you and you know them. You are on a journey together. There are several facets of shepherding, but one stands out to me here.

As a shepherd, often you are giving the call to your people to move. I know as leaders, we don't stop long. Ministry is always moving. I am so thankful Christ showed us that in His own ministry. He stopped and stayed to complete the work the Father had given Him to do (Jn. 17:4, Mk. 1:38-39), and then He moved. When it’s time to go to better, greener places, how are you issuing that call to them? How are you communicating the better, greener place and what it’s going to take to get there? If "people speak" isn't you (I have been known to speak that fast and fluent), then how are you presenting your goals?  How are you getting your people to see your vision, invest in the mission, and move with you? Sheep are known for wanting to stay put until they have ravaged a field and pulled the grass up by the roots. Then they stand there bleating with a belly full of gross stuff, wondering who will feed them here. Here is no longer the answer to their hunger. We all have to move, shepherd and sheep, so how do we go together?

 

As a new leader, I was passionate about our goals, all of them. In every area I desired for all of us to have excellence so we could make one outstanding Christ-centered ministry. I felt the reality and pressure of our goals, and I was hungry to move people to a place where they would feel heart and soul engaged in meeting those goals. Surely that would result in our mission and vision exploding! Yes…but there was one problem. Not all my people were interested in those goals or even in following me there. I recall an email I wrote to my people when I had finished reviewing our results for the month. The picture was not pretty, and action was needed on the part of everyone, but mostly them. (I kid!) In my mind I affectionately termed it the “Get it done” email. I think the subject line was “A hard email to write—response required.” I covered everything from their original offer letters, their current commitment to their roles, the heart of our mission, the numbers achieved and a trend report for visual clarity, how they submitted their detailed "TPS reports", and maybe I addressed someone's kitchen sink. You can imagine after reading that how everyone wanted to run into the arms of Jesus, confess all their issues that had deeply contributed to these lackluster results, and rush forward into ministry with a freshly painted banner that read, “‘A Hard Email to Write’ – Ginny Changed My Ministry!” That’s what I imagined. Looking back, I imagine they ran into the arms of Jesus for an entirely different reason. I'll bet they were ready to paint a different banner of ministry that would have been very easy for them to write and difficult for me to look at. No, my email did little to move my people to heart and soul engagement in our goals. And they were good goals.

That's when I learned the dark, flesh-side of shepherding: sheep dogging. I came across this concept in Dallas Willard's book Hearing God. According to Willard, sheep dogs know exactly where they want the sheep to go and they will bark, bite, chase, and corral them to get them there. "Sheep dogging" is manipulating people to a pre-determined outcome, only speaking half-truths with niceness but not being transparent or clear, emotionally standing back, allowing only the circumstances and facts to speak without listening or prior real investment in real people, neglecting details to soften a truth, and/or using authority to force an outcome without tending to the relationship. It can even be biting with anger, tone, and attitude. Sheep dogging sees a goal and tends only to the sheep so far as they will cooperate in moving towards the goal. The movement and goal are the point, not the people. What's hard to admit is when you love people and are for people, and yet you have sheep dogged people. Oh but the pressure of ministry! I have felt it. I have been the nicest sheep dog ever...with titanium tipped teeth and the swiftest moves in the tri-state area. Oh the pressure of ministry!! Can I counter that? Oh the Presence of The Shepherd.

Shepherding is different. It is leading people in a right path to take them to a right place in their best interest. Sounds like sheep dogging except shepherds lead and guide with tools and vision, always looking to their Good Shepherd to guide them; they don't manipulate or bite. We see this nestled in Psalm 23. (If you want an excellent book on this, I highly recommend A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller.) Shepherds take responsibility to nurture, model, and establish trust and confidence through relationships. With sheep in ministry who are called by Jesus to serve Him and others, it is your job as a shepherd to show them how movement or goals are the greener pasture, why it’s a better place, and how Jesus and people are on the path as well as in the results. Your sheep want you to tell them why they are making the move or working towards this new facet of mission and how it reflects the heart of their calling and Savior.

Are you feeling a big "ughhh" inside? That sounds like a lot of work and time away from important meetings/email and emotional connecting and spiritually investing and blah, blah, blah to get to where we need to go now. You feel a sense of urgency and want to create an action plan. I get it. Remember, I know the pressures of ministry. Urgency and action - that’s good. Before you map your new team action items, remember that while you see a need to act, you are shepherding sheep. You may need to balance your own fresh energy to move or meet a goal with the fact that you are going to have to bring your people up to speed and engage them in a Christ-led journey to meeting that goal. If you press and don’t fully consider people, you may be in for a much longer journey. Sheep are quite an unruly, obstinate bunch. That's why we're referred to as sheep by God. Recall in your life who has invested in you as a sheep and shepherded you. Now consider who has sheep dogged you. What's the difference in those experiences?

My point and heart with shepherding vs. sheep dogging ultimately comes down to this: We don’t move people. People don’t move people. Jesus moves people. All our efforts in the world may inspire or even scare people into temporarily moving, but it’s not lasting change with internal transformation that expresses itself with greater faith, love and action on the outside. Only Jesus can do that. As a shepherd, you will never move your sheep. You must look to the One Who called them, follow Him and use His words to call His sheep. Think again about John 10. Jesus says that His sheep know His voice, know Him, and follow Him. As their anointed, appointed shepherd for this season, you must use His words so that His sheep will hear His voice and you can all follow Him to better, greener places together.

 

So, consider the following questions as a shepherd with sheep:

• What gifts do I see in these people, just as they are? Ask God to reveal to you why these people in this place for this season. He is at work in these sheep. What's He doing in them and through them right now individually? As a team? If you don't know that answer, this is your starting point. Know your sheep and how He is shepherding them with His voice, leading, and nearness.
• Where is Christ in this? What does He say?
• How have I led in this so far? Would my people agree with my assessment of my leadership here?
• How have I prayed for my sheep in this? For myself?
• Where do I need to build into relationships (serve and wash feet) so that I can lead?
• Consider what you know about the character of God and His Word. Where do I see my desired movement or goal reflected in scripture and/or in Him?
• What’s eternal in what I want to do or in the journey to get to where I want to go?
• How does moving or meeting these goals reflect Jesus and people? What’s glorious about Jesus in this goal and the path to meeting it? What about this journey and the goal embrace people?
• How can I skillfully and rightly take the word of God (which really is The Word, Jesus) and use it to call my people to go with Him and me?
• What will my sheep need with this? How will I serve them and keep pointing them to Christ while I pull the weight of this ministry with them? 

 

I learned some really hard lessons along the way from sheep dogging to shepherding. And movement is just one facet of shepherding! When I chose His way of shepherding, He never failed to care for His sheep, including me. And we never failed to reach His new place for us, even if the road felt like the valley of death at times. He is indeed the Good Shepherd. Will you follow Him?

 

Just another seed of my faith,

 

Ginny