The Tiredness of the Copy-Cat

How does one come up with a plan for ministry?  Is it reading the latest book on church?  Is it copying what someone else has done that has been successful?  As we move to this new phase of ministry in our lives, I want to do as I have always thought I should do.  I have to hear from God myself, and not simply follow what others are doing. There is always something to learn from those who are doing effective ministry, but are we to base what we do simply on what they do?  Maybe for some, but I think we fail ourselves if we do not seek what God wants in our setting.  Learn from those who are doing it well, read the books, let's just make sure we read "The Book" before we go forward with our ministry.

How do we do that?  Jeremiah has some great words to address this.  "This is what the Lord says:  'Stand at the Crossroads and look; ask for the Ancient Paths, ask where the Good way is, and Walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.  But you said, we will not walk in it."- Jeremiah 6:16  This passage gives me some interesting thoughts.  Let me deal first with what we are to do personally and then with how we get a "God-involved" ministry plan.  

4 things:  1.  Stand at the Crossroads - Get to the critical place of having to decide where to go and what you life is going to be about.

 2.  Look while at the Crossroads - Examine the path you must go on or will go on. We will see what is popular there and what is not and we have got to make a good decision.  

 3.  Ask where the good way is - There are many options to go down, but they are not all the path that includes the "Good Way".  This "Good Way" is "God's Way".

 4.  Walk in it - Once you know how you are to live or how you are to minister, then go down that road and do so with passion.

Look at what he says here, when we do this, "you will find rest for your souls." This makes me go "Hmm".

When I look around at the church in Germany and the church in America, I see people tired, confused and unable to find real rest in their lives.  It begs the question, why?  Could it be that we are so tired as followers of Christ because we are busy following some Spiritual list we think we have to accomplish or what some other Christian says we should do.  If that is the case, then we have not stood anywhere but in the path of someone else and we have not heard from God concerning the direction for our lives.  Are you walking in the way that God is leading you or are you walking in the path that your parents, church, job, denomination, or friends say you should walk.

Since the Christian life is not to be live alone, but in community with others, we have to ask those of us who lead ministries a question.  Have we stood at the road, looked, asked for the good path, and then walked in it or have we simply gotten on board with whatever is trendy in the world of church life?  Could it be that the reason the people we lead are so tired and unconnected to God is because we have not gotten our ministry plan from God, but from what others have heard from God for their setting.  Maybe it could be the same, but maybe not.  If this way brings rest for your soul, then maybe we who lead should get away and examine where we are leading people.  What does it say about our pursuit of God, when we rely on the latest book to give us direction?  Have we lost the ability or even desire to seek him when it is so difficult and instead have chosen to ride upon the wings of those who have sought him. 

Of course, we cannot be held responsible for all of the actions and decisions that people make, but we are responsible to make sure that we have heard from Christ and are going down a road that he has given us, not one we have gotten from someone else.  Do we want the people we lead to have rest?  It will help them if we will hear from God ourselves.  If we don't we will just lead and live the life that others are living. And that...

leads to the Tiredness of the Copy-cat life.