Don't Wait in Line

If you aspire to lead in some way, that is awesome! I love people with initiative, with drive to make an impact wherever they are called.  The Bible even says that desiring leadership is a good thing!

Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.

1 Timothy 3:1

Tom and Kellie Agulia - two of the best Servant Leaders at Stuart Campus!

However, I want to caution you on how you pursue leadership:

Don’t wait for the position before starting to lead

Most of us see leadership as a high position where we have a team of people under our authority.  We have a picture of a leader who stands on the platform teaching and giving directions that others should follow.  It could be easy to think that we cannot start leading until we have THAT.  So, we wait our turn in line hoping that one day we will be promoted to that high position.  

Here is the problem with that:

People do not follow a leader because they have position and platform.   People follow a leader who they RESPECT, who they LOVE, and who they TRUST.  

RESPECT

LOVE

TRUST

Pastor Clint and one of our team leaders, Amanda both have earned Respect, Love and Trust of their teams

These are 3 things that you can gain with people RIGHT NOW, right where you are, before you have ANY position of leadership.  That’s amazing to think that you don’t need to be standing on the platform to gain these things.  You don’t need employees under your direction.  You don’t need the title.  

Maybe you think that gaining the title gains you influence and power that you otherwise do not have with people.  And while it is true that the position does give you power to make decisions and to give directives to people, it gains you little influence.  You see, when you gain the position, you now have a difficult time wondering if people follow you because they WANT TO or because they HAVE TO.  You will have a more difficult time to know if you truly have gained people’s RESPECT, LOVE and TRUST.

Here is a big secret that I want to share with you about leadership:

You don’t need to wait in line for the position

You can lead TODAY with no position

It’s like when you are at the grocery store and you are ready to check out at the cashier station.  You likely are looking for the shortest line so you can get out of the store as quickly as possible.  If you have a big cart full of groceries, you have to stand in the normal line where there likely is a longer wait.

If you are like me, you love it when you just have 10 items or less, because that means you get to go through the Quick Check Out lane! It’s so much faster!

People think the position gains them influence and power. But the position comes with:

• problems to solve
• expectations to meet
• responsibilities to carry
• people to please

When you have no position, you carry few items:

• the problems are not your problems
• no expectations on you
• the responsibility is not yours to carry
• people are not looking to you 

Think about this: when you do not carry what the position comes with, you can still solve problems, you can carry some responsibility, you can exceed expectations in your current role, you can serve people.  When you hold the position and do these things, no one is impressed.  They say “well, that’s what they SHOULD be doing.  After all, they are in charge.” When you hold no position and do these things, people say “WOW! Look how they solve problems.  Look how they step in and carry responsibility.  Look how they serve people around them!  They are awesome.  They go the second mile!”

Pastor Ismael and his wife, Margarita lead through loving and serving people

Leading without having the position or platform is like walking through the “Quick Check Out Lane” at the grocery store.  It earns you people’s RESPECT, their LOVE, and their TRUST quicker than having the position gains you.  

Don’t lead with the motive of gaining position or platform.  Remember this:

Position is not given to lift you.

Position is given for you to lift up others around you.

Start leading today where you are at, before the position.  Stop leading through directing what you want others to do, and start leading through modeling what you want them to catch.

Hands Off

Have you ever tried teaching a skill to someone? Ever been in charge of a project with a team and tried explaining how to do what needs done? Most people would rather just DO IT THEMSELVES.  They don’t want the aggravation of having to try to teach someone else how to do what they do.  

But teaching others what you have mastered is so valuable.  Here are just a few reasons why:

1. to accomplish big tasks, you need a big team - you can’t do it alone
2. you can go farther faster when you empower a team
3. teaching others leaves your legacy in the world

OK, so if you are still reading this article, you likely are bought in to the value of teaching others what you do, what you know.  Now, I want to teach you HOW I TEACH others.  This is my philosophy of how I equip others, how I have learned is the best way to effectively get my “students” to comprehend what I am attempting to teach them.

Hands off

I have a Hands off approach to how I teach.  I learned this years ago when I first started teaching piano.  I had taken piano lessons myself since I was 5 years old all the way through college where I earned a degree in Piano Performance.  I thought to myself “teaching piano will be a breeze - I have had piano lessons all my life!” 

I remember my first student was an 8 year old boy.  His mom would sit with us as I taught him music.  This boy was excited, respectful, and motivated to learn music.  The first few lessons, I did a lot of talking and explaining about the piano.  The next few lessons, I did a lot of playing the piano, trying to show him how to play.  Then, in the last few minutes of each lesson, I would have him sit at the piano and repeat what I had been showing him.  He struggled to play, but I just chalked it up to him being young and new to the piano.  

After 2 months of lessons, the mom met with me and told me that her son was discouraged as he was not really getting what I was teaching.  She said “Matt, I wonder if you maybe had him do more playing, he may start to embrace the piano more.”   I have to admit, my first emotion inside said “hey, lady - I have my Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance.  I am a professional musician.  Don’t tell me how to teach!”  But, I remained teachable to this comment.   To please the mom and keep the boy as a student, I began taking the mother’s advice and started the lesson with the boy on the piano bench.  When I taught the song, I taught it with him in the seat in front of the keys.  I would lean over him to play the song, then immediately would have him repeat.  I would let him make mistakes.  And when he would make mistakes (wrong fingers, wrong position, wrong rhythm), I would resist the urge to correct.  I found that when the boy would sit and figure it out, he would eventually self-correct.  I would only correct when he got stuck.  The more that I would be quiet and let him get his hands on the keys, the better he would learn the song.  And…when the boy would play it right for the first time, he would look over at me with the biggest smile, looking for my approval.  I would cheer and celebrate him!

A hands off approach to teaching takes longer.  It takes incredible amounts of patience, restraint on your part as the teacher. The key to making this approach work is:

The teacher must take their hands off so the student can have their hands on

As the teacher, think of yourself as a Football Coach.  The Coach is in charge of the team.  The Coach is responsible for the team to win.  However, the Coach does not actually play in the game.  The Coach stands over on the sidelines.  In Football, the Coach does not even call all of the plays.  He lets the Quarterback take that role.  Think how stressful it is to be the Coach in charge of the team and responsible to produce a win, but he can’t go out and make the winning play! But the Coach embraces this concept: for the Coach to win, the Team has to win.  The Coach must trust his players.  He must allow the players to implement the strategy.  He must trust the Quarterback to earn the respect of the team, because it is the Quarterback who must work with the team on the field.

Let’s apply this Hands Off Teaching Approach to how you work with your team, whether it be at school, at work, or at church:

Less Teaching, More Empowering

I think I have been guilty of thinking my leadership training and my Powerpoint presentation was so great that everyone in the room should now be a great team player.  There is a place for teaching, for sure.  But what I have come to realize is that my team members get it best when they have the opportunity to lead something themselves.  Empowering does not mean just throwing them in the pool like a child who has never swam before.  But it does mean letting them swim with you close by.  People develop their “swimming muscles” when they have to swim on their own.  A teacher won’t let them drown, but an empowering teacher won’t “hold them in the water” either.  They take their hands off the child so they can truly experience the feeling of having to swim on their own.  This is empowering teaching.

Less Correcting, More Coaching

Correcting is good and necessary.  But Coaching is better.  What’s the difference? To me, it’s the timing of when you give it.  My friend, Dave Simiele is great at this.  He teaches his team at Christ Fellowship church to minimize correcting conversations on Sunday service times.  When one of his team members comes to him with a problem, he says “that’s a Monday conversation.”

What he is saying is that he would prefer to evaluate processes or correct problems during the week in private where he and team can focus on solutions with margin.  Sunday services for a Pastor is like the NFL Football game.  We need to be focused on people and focused on doing our best to make the service run smoothly.  That’s good coaching!

Less Watching, More Doing

Take your hands off the project or task, and have them put their hands on it.  Back to the piano lesson story, understand that people retain much more of what they learn when they DO, not just listen or watch.  Also, when people do something, there is a dynamic of muscle memory that comes in to play.  Once my piano students would play a musical passage correctly, I would cheer for them and then immediately have them repeat it over and over.  I wanted them to feel what playing it right felt like.  I knew they likely would forget all of the notes and rhythms, but what would help them is seeing it and feeling it several times.  When you teach something, get their hands on it.  

Whether it’s getting your team to recruit volunteers, or share a story publicly, or write out a progress report, have them do it over and over.  Point out specific things they do well, and you will find they will repeat those things.  Your team wants to be successful.  This is how you help them feel successful.  They will improve as they are hands-on in doing the work themselves.  When they get it right - cheer them on!

Teaching takes patience, insight and strategy.  But it is worth taking time to teach others what you do well.  Teaching others skills that you have mastered will turn out to be the most rewarding thing you do.  Empowering others to be successful becomes your legacy that will give greater meaning to your life.

Pour Out

If you have been serving in some role for a long stretch, you eventually realize the strain it puts on you personally.  Whether you serve in your church in some way, or in your neighborhood or community organization, serving is demanding and draining.  Why? What is it about serving that is demanding and draining? Is it the hours of work? Is it the manual labor? Is it the preparation? 

I have found what contributes most to the demand and drain of serving is having to work with people.  It’s a paradox, because people bring the most joy and the most meaning to why we serve.  People are the REASON WHY we serve.  Yet, interacting with people can be frustrating, hurtful, and draining.  It is not the long hours that discourage people to serve.  It is not the manual labor that frustrates people.  On the contrary, manual labor actually energizes many people and gives them a sense of immediate accomplishment.  It is the process of working with and interacting with people that drains our battery fast.

I have written many blogs on leadership because leadership is all about working with people.  And while there are many great insights in to how to understand people better so you can work better with them, this blog is focused on the sacrifice of serving.

Serving Takes Sacrifice

I have to remind myself that there is a personal sacrifice in me serving where God has called me to.  Serving is not about me.  Serving is not about fulfilling me, although the benefit of serving is that it does bless me and grow me.  Serving, by it’s very definition is about giving yourself to others.  Serving is about accommodating people.  It is about seeking to understand people and then attempting to meet their needs.  Serving is about denying your own needs and preferences for a moment so that you can take a lower position of a servant to attend to the needs and preferences of others.  

The Apostle Paul was one of the first Church Leaders in History who helped establish many churches.  Paul wrote letters to other Church Leaders to give instruction and counsel that were later included in the Bible.  Paul, with all of his proven experience and Church authority understood the serving mindset and the price of serving.  

One of the letters Paul writes is to a young, up and coming Pastor named Timothy.  Timothy was being faithful leading and caring for people in a church Paul established in the city of Ephesus.  The Apostle was in prison at this stage of his life because of sharing the message of Jesus Christ.  The Apostle by this time had traveled throughout the world preaching, starting churches with people who became new believers.  The Apostle had served people all of his life since his conversion to following Jesus.  Knowing that he would likely be executed by the Romans, Paul wanted to give Timothy and other Church Leaders one final letter on the essence of leading people.  The Apostle Paul gave this charge:

2 Timothy 4

But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.  As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.

What a picture of pouring our life out as an offering to God! If you have served faithfully, this will likely resonate with you.  When you truly serve consistently and faithfully, you literally pour out your life - your time, your gifts, your all to people.  You pour your life out at all times, not just when it feels good to you, not just when you understand the plan.  You serve when it becomes difficult, when it feels lonely, when it becomes heavy.  But you stay committed because you know you are called.  Like Paul, you are called to “fully carry out the ministry God has given you.”

Jesus Himself also used this analogy of pouring out in describing His life mission to His inner circle friends.   When Jesus was having a meal together with His Disciples, He knew soon He would be taken and beaten and killed by His enemies.  Jesus had enemies, not because He did anything wrong or selfish.  On the contrary, Jesus lived to serve others.  Jesus came to love the unlovable, to touch the untouchable.  He healed hurting people.  He forgave sinners.  Jesus brought a message of life and love.  But people in powerful positions were intimidated by Him, because He was turning people from traditional thinking.  Jesus was bringing freedom to people, and that endangered their power.  Jesus understood that there would be a sacrifice for his serving.  He would experience suffering for his serving.

Jesus used the bread and the wine at the table to illustrate the meaning of His life, to show the essence of what serving truly should look like:

Luke 22:20

..after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

The pouring concept really describes what serving feels like to me.   It is a complete surrender of self.  It is giving your all until you have nothing left to give.  It is giving yourself liberally, not holding anything back.

To pour out, you must empty yourself

But, here is the great thing about serving God!

You can never out-give God

When you pour out to people that you are called to serve, God re-fills you.  Jesus said:

“I am the Living Water.  whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life”
John 4

Proverbs 11:25 makes this promise:

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

What I have learned as I have given myself to serving God and serving people I am called serve is that there is a sacrifice in serving.  There is a pouring out of my life, my emotions.  Sometimes, the people I serve do not always appreciate what I do for them.  And they do not always give back to me.  However, as I approach God with my needs and my emptiness after serving, He ALWAYS fills me up, He ALWAYS satisfies my needs.

If you are serving faithfully, be encouraged.  Keep on serving.  Keep pouring out.  Give generously from your life - do not hold back thinking that you have to reserve some back for yourself.  Whatever you pour out will be poured back in to you.

You can NEVER out-give GOD!

City Limits

I am a Pastor at Christ Fellowship, and I get to look after the Stuart Campus.  I love it!

Now, if you did not know better, you would assume that the Campus is located in Stuart, Florida.  But the truth is, the property lies just outside the city limits of the city of Stuart.  Actually, it is in unincorporated Martin County.  We call the Campus “Stuart Campus” because Stuart is a clear, known city nearby that serves as a great identity marker for all of those who live in the South Florida area.

Stuart is a great little city.  It even has it’s own Police department.  If you go outside the city limits of Stuart, and you ever needed help from Law Enforcement, you would then call upon the Martin County Sheriff’s Department.  The Stuart Police Department serves the people of Stuart and stays within the city limits.

As I was pondering this one day, I thought it served as a great picture of how leadership plays out when it comes to relationships.  

Leadership works only within the boundaries of how well relationships are developed, much like the city limits are for Stuart.

Years ago, as a young Pastor serving as the Worship Leader of my church, I was given leadership and authority over people.  My musical ability catapulted me high up as a leader, yet I did not truly understand the essence of what leadership is, how leadership works, or at least how it works best.

I remember having many conflicts with people on my team, and many challenges with having to lead the people under my care.  It seemed I was always putting out fires.  I think what I did not understand early on is that my leadership could only extend to the level of relationships I had built.

Because I was a young, ambitious leader with great ideas and vision, I tended to move fast - implementing new plans, new systems, new styles that I loved, not always what was best for the church or the people.  When someone “got in my way”, or was not on board with where I was going, I would try to “lead them” to where I thought they needed to go.  I assumed that they would follow me simply because I was their leader.  I assumed that they would not have any questions, that they would understand clearly, having no doubts or concerns.  I was here to lead, to make things great - great for me really, not necessarily for them.

I also remember trying to speak my mind to people - colleagues I was on staff with, and the leaders above me. Not only did I feel like I was not being heard, I felt like I was not connecting.  There is nothing more frustrating than to want to make your point, only to not be accepted or be understood.  It’s like beating your head against a wall, but your not getting through - you’re just hurting your head.

Through the years of being mentored and through much experience of trial and error, I have learned that the key to getting your voice heard, the secret to connecting to people so that they will follow your lead is this:

Know your City Limits

As mentioned earlier, the city of Stuart has clear signs that show where the city limits end and where unincorporated Martin County begins.   Likewise, with each relationship we manage, we need to look for the signs of the city limits.  We can only go as far with people as we have built mutual trust and mutual respect.  

Here are a few practical keys to expand out your “City Limits” with people around you to expand your leadership with them:

1. Invest Time

The greatest way to begin the process of building a healthy relationship is to spend time with people.  Spend intentional time where you are sharing life together, sharing your hopes and dreams with one another.  

Do fun things with people.  Make memorable events and moments together.  You can do this in groups to maximize moments, but you also need to be intentional with high - capacity people and loyal people by spending one on one time with them.  In a world of automation, Social Media “Friends” lists, and using the art of delegating, a leader CANNOT DELEGATE time investment to someone else.  I would recommend planning meaningful FACE TO FACE time with your key people.  Seek them out.  

Make plans in the coming days and weeks.  For this, get out from behind your desk.  Don’t work with your Assistant to arrange this - YOU arrange this.  And make sure there are times when you are not training, not coaching, not pushing your agenda.  Your agenda can wait so that you build authentic relationship with your people.  You need to do this also with your colleagues,  and certainly with your boss, for those in leadership above you.  YOU initiate this.  It will look different than how you create it for people who serve under you.  But make sure to make time with people you serve and work with.

2. Invest Trust

To get trustworthy people, you must give them trust.  That seems backwards, doesn’t it?  I mean, you only give trust to people who have earned trust.  Right?  I get that.  But the way to BUILD trustworthy people is to begin by offering them some trust up front.  This is a powerful concept.

Here’s why it works.  When you understand that people want to succeed, they want to please, they want to do their best, you set them up for success.  You LEND THEM TRUST and put high belief in them.  When you do this, you communicate value, respect for who they are, and you encourage them to become the great person that they can be.  This takes seeing the best in people, even before they display it.  Start finding small areas where you can empower people and trust them.  When they see that you are willing to take a risk for them, they usually will rise to the level and become trustworthy.  And they will thank you for it!

3. Invest in their Talent

The true purpose of leadership is this: help others get where they want to go.  Help people around you be successful in their calling.  That’s it.  Leadership is not meant for you or me to be successful or look successful.  The most celebrated leaders are recognized because they are SERVANT LEADERS, serving people.  

When the people around them are successful, the Leader feels a sense of accomplishment.  Whatever your vision, whatever your mission, it must work through utilizing people’s talents, tapping in to people’s calling.  When people see that you are developing their gifts and helping them live in their calling, they will be on board with your vision.  They will embrace your mission like it is their own.  Secure Leaders are not afraid of letting people under their care shine brighter than they are.  Secure Leaders are thrilled when people rise to higher levels of accomplishment.  That is a sign of a great leader! Find ways and opportunities to feature people’s gifts and successes.  Celebrate them! Get behind them and support them.  They will always turn around and thank you for helping them reach their calling.

Passionate Leaders want to break through barriers to reach higher levels, to realize their great vision.  But wise leaders understand that they can only lead their people and influence their colleagues and those who lead them according to the boundaries of the city limits.  Outside the city limits, they have no jurisdiction, no influence.  They may try to shout orders, but people will not come along on the journey.  When the leader makes demands or threats, the people only do the minimum requirement.  They drag their feet.  They question everything.  

As you endeavor to lead people, work to expand the borders in every relationship you manage by Investing Time, Trust and investing in their Talent.  You will find that people will embrace your vision and your leadership with them!

What Do You Want?

Everybody wants something.  Every one of us have desires.  We want to get somewhere in our life, we want to progress and reach the level of success that we are hoping for.

However, most of us spend a lot of time talking and interacting with others, but after the exchange we find ourselves no further along toward reaching our goal.  

I want to share something I have learned that has really helped me in my pursuits and my objectives.  In every conversation I have, In every interaction I am faced with, in every meeting I am a part of, I always prepare ahead of time by first answering this question:

What do I want?

I first take time to stop and force myself to work through these issues:

What is it I really want out of the interaction with this person?

What is a reasonable expectation to hope for out of the conversation?

What do I hope to accomplish out of this meeting?

I’m talking about making every interaction INTENTIONAL.

Most of us go in to interactions with people with our most primal desire to be heard, to be understood.  We FEEL BETTER when we have shared our heart.  If we have conflict with the other person, or if the other person has hurt us, we start from a place of emotion and prejudice of how the person makes us feel.  We are too close to the situation that we cannot see objectively beyond the hurt to see the path to progress ahead.

I see this in team meetings as well.  A lot of people share what they see, what they experience.  Others share big ideas and talk about what they used to do in their previous organization. Most share their frustrations or challenges they are dealing with.  Others who are task-oriented tend to rush the conversation by just getting the specifics of the upcoming event or task that they feel responsible for.  They want to know how many shirts to order, which songs are picked, what time to show up.

All of these feelings and all of these tendencies are not bad - at all.  They are natural, they are healthy to share and to express.  To ignore these and just cut to the chase in every interaction would be denying people the opportunity to connect and to relate in a healthy way.  By all means, there is a time and place where people should be able to share their feelings, experiences, and acquire key information.  

My point is to make sure to not miss the MOST IMPORTANT reason for the meeting - that is, to not leave the interaction with the person or leave the meeting with the team without the desired outcome.

I have learned this when I have had to meet with a difficult person about something that wasn’t going right, or was stuck.  I found myself frustrated with them.  And because I am a more outspoken person, I could easily give them a piece of my mind.  I could easily make them feel my pain in the situation.  However, this wisdom-skill of restraint, discernment and intentionality forced me to ask myself before the meeting: 

What do I want from this?

What is the favorable Outcome?

Asking this forced me to be strategic in how I directed the conversation.  To get what I wanted, I had to help them get what THEY wanted.  We call this a WIN - WIN.  

For someone that has hurt me or offended me, my reaction is to maybe hurt them back, or to be defensive and close up myself emotionally.  But when I realize what I really want is healing in the relationship and health moving forward, I go in to the conversation with tenderness, with a desire to first listen to them, and to share my feelings of what is important to me.  I surround everything I say with honor, love, affirming, believing the best about them, while clarifying the hurt or the offense, so I ensure that it won’t continue happening.

When I lead a meeting with a team, I state at the beginning what the purpose and what the desired outcome is.  I clarify the time duration of the meeting and I always start with a brief coaching on the proper mindset we all need to have as we begin sharing and discussing.  And while I allow for plenty of sharing, brainstorming and even fun, I constantly bring re-focus to the conversation.  I rarely do this in a harsh, directive way.  Rather, my style is to ask a leading question, either to the group, or to call someone out to ask their opinion.

Expectations

In all of these scenarios mentioned, one thing to define and to declare is your expectation.  And when you say it, say it clearly, and slowly.  You may need to say it a few times in the conversation, both at the beginning and then repeated towards the conclusion.  Most of the time, I also give it in writing in the meeting.  To do this, I first have had to first take time to really think “What do I want? What is truly important?” If you are realistic, and if you understand that people are a work in progress, then you reduce some of your ideas and dreams down to what is achievable and reachable for this person or this team.  In dealing with a difficult or hurtful person, you realize you may not be best buddies, but how can you understand eachother so as not to push eachother’s hot buttons.  For a team, how can you challenge them to stretch to great things, but break down the big goal in to bite-size, incremental steps.

Action Steps

Sharing Expectations clarify the focus of the mission.  Assigning action steps give legs so that the mission can get moving.  Give assignments to both you and your people as you come out of the conversation.  And then commit to a written deadline that you will personally follow up on.  This brings accountability to all parties.  When you set action steps, you give more credibility to what you have shared or advocated for by acting on what you are saying - and…to what they were advocating for.  Too many of us are all talk, but not much walk.  And we wonder why our voice is not heard.  I have learned that if I want a voice at the table, I first must BRING SOMETHING to the table.  I hate to use this analogy….but it’s kind of like going to a Poker Table in Las Vegas and sitting down asking for cards to join in on the game.  The dealer is going to stare at you and say “place your bets.” If you want to play, you have first got to pay.

Intentionality

To get where you want to go, you have do what is necessary to get there.  Resist your need to always be heard, to be understood.  Restrain yourself from trying to “win” every argument or control the conversation or meeting.  Rather, always keep focused on your intended outcome.  Only say things that help people move toward that outcome.  Intentionality uses more of positive affirming and less of negative conflict.  Intentionality paints a picture of how great the future can be when we work together, not rehearsing the hurt or the failures over and over.  Intentionality asks more questions allowing space for other people to actually figure it out for themselves, rather than spelling it all out for them.  To be intentional in your meeting, you carefully select every word and choose the right time when to speak it.  Some of the most successful meetings I have been in is when I said very little.  I let people get all of their feelings and ideas out, and then concluded with:

1. Affirming their feelngs and ideas
2. Re-focusing the conversation on the shared goal
3. Stating Expectations
4. Making Assignments
5. Asking one or two leading questions to spark their creativity on how they can accomplish those assignments to meet the expectations

In every interaction you walk in to, take time to decide what your desired outcome is.  It must be a WIN - WIN for you and the other person.  Say things that help you both move forward toward the shared goal.  

Know What You Want

Holy Work

Did you know that your work is special?

Have you ever thought of your work as being sacred?

Now you're reading this and thinking "where in the world are you taking this?"

Your work, I mean EVERY TASK in your schedule is holy.  It is holy unto God.

Now you're thinking, or saying out loud "what is holy?? Like when Robin says to the Caped Crusader "Holy Ice Cream Cones, Batman!"




The word HOLY means set apart.  It can mean set apart from the normal, from the familiar.  

The word HOLY also means set apart for something special, something selected above everything else.  

In the Bible, it says that the Angels in Heaven sing a song to God perpetually that has one word as the stand-alone lyric:

"Holy, Holy, Holy"

The Angels are in the literal presence of God in all of His majesty and splendor; and when they look upon God sitting on His throne, their description of Him, their response is to call him Holy.  Set apart from the normal and usual, and set apart for specific and sacred place from all other beings.  God created all things in heaven and in earth; but God, Himself was not creatED. He is the CreatOR.  There is none like Him.

So consider now your work.  I'm talking about your profession, whether it be a business you run, a class you teach, a company you work for.  I'm also talking about the tasks you have to manage, like doing dishes, washing clothes.  If you have children you care for, you understand the word "work" very well.  Making dinner, then checking that everyone is doing their homework.  You have a spouse that forgets some of their responsibilities, so you have to now do their tasks, like paying the bills, or taking out the trash.   You get it.  

All of this is holy unto the Lord in Heaven.  And here's why:

When you do it for God, you acknowledge that you are really working for Him.  And you are really acknowledging that He is real, and that He has first place in your life.  

And if you have ever read much of the Bible, you read stories of people just like you who had problems and stresses and fears.  They had tough work on their plate, and were in difficult places in their lives.  But they acknowledged that God was true and faithful.  They listened to God promise them that if they worked for Him, and put God first in every task, that God would make good on His promises to bless them.  These people understood that doing their work well was an act of acknowledgement, of WORSHIP of God.  

As a pastor at Christ Fellowship in South Florida, I have the privilege to lead a church in Stuart.  I love working with people and helping them learn about God's love for them and His plan for their life.  I love to get to lead teams of people to go out in to our community and serve people.  I love the Sunday services that we produce with the message taught from the Bible, and the music, and all of the activities we offer.  That's the fun part.

The part that I struggle with doing honestly is the physical labor in the set up of the church - and there's a lot of it.  For the first years of our Christ Fellowship Campus in Stuart, we met in High Schools, as we did not yet have a permanent location.  We had 50 road cases that we stored all of our equipment in.  We literally found a way to pack an entire church in to road cases.  It was kind of like being a traveling salesman who constantly lives out of his suit case in hotels.  Every Sunday after our 3 morning services, I would have to rally people to stay to help me tear down the church, pack up the fifty road cases and wheel them back in to the storage containers across the school property; then, start sweep and straighten the school for Monday's classes.  Let me tell you, getting tired volunteers after 3 services to stay and skip Sunday lunch with their family to tear down was tough.  Doing it EVERY WEEK for seven years was nothing short of a Biblical miracle, right below Jesus raising a guy from the dead!

I was at my most tired at that time on Sunday, yet I knew as the leader, I needed to roll up my sleeves and work hard so that others would follow my lead.  And I have to admit to you, there were times that I was so frustrated that I had to pull road cases and tear down heavy speakers.  I had to plead with  people to please stay, and then give them all assignments to do.  My stomach was grumbling and I could visualize my wife and kids sitting at a restaurant with church friends laughing and chowing down on a plate of food.  My favorite thing in the world is sitting in a restaurant with my family and friends eating great food.  

OK - enough whining :)

I remember one Sunday as I was pulling two heavy road cases down the hall by myself, I thought about Jesus carrying the cross down the road in Jerusalem up to the hill where He was soon to be killed.  I thought "what Jesus had to do was so difficult and so painful.  Yet his pain was accomplishing a Holy purpose.  Jesus did not complain one moment when He did His assignment.  Jesus understood that He was holy, and His work was holy -  Set a part for a holy purpose.  

He understood that He had to pay a higher price, because He was not doing His will, He was doing the will of God in Heaven - and that was that God was saving all people from death, through the sacrifice of His Holy Son Jesus.  Jesus willingly suffered so we could not suffer.  Jesus willingly sacrificed so we could have life.  WOW! That is a sobering thought.  

Suddenly, my stomach stopped growling.  Suddenly, I pulled harder.  And when I finished with those road cases, I went back and pulled more.  It somehow motivated me.  I had a gratefulness in my heart that I could identify with Jesus in working for God for a holy purpose.  I knew that me tearing down our equipment that we were able to have a church in a school, where many people were coming and experiencing the love of God, some for the very first time.  Suddenly, it didn't bother me that only a few faithful volunteers stayed with me to do the work of the church.  It was an HONOR and PRIVILEGE to serve Jesus.  It was my act of worship.  I felt God's face smiling down on me saying "thank you Matt for doing this work.  Thank you for caring about what I care about.  Thank you for making a church in a school where people can come meet with me and learn about my plan for them."

You might be tired of serving in your church.  You might be worn out and spent in your job.  Nobody appreciates you.  Nobody notices your long hours.  No one has offered to help carry your load. Maybe at home you feel alone and forgotten and feel like giving up.  

I just want to remind you that every task you do, every menial task, every difficult project - it all is holy unto God.  It is special to Him.  Your work has a purpose, it has meaning.  And if it is hard to do,  if it is painful, that is sometimes alright.  God appreciates what you are doing.  And He will bless you.  I have been SO BLESSED with my work at our church.  I love what I get to do.  

See your work as Holy