Lee Bezotte

Let’s face it, if you’re doing effective ministry, the devil hates it.  In fact, he hates YOU.  Leaders have a whole gang of enemies they must face in order to keep moving forward.  It’s not an easy job and there are perils around every corner.

If the enemy can’t get you to throw in the towel, he’ll find ways of rendering you fruitless.  Oftentimes leaders aren’t even aware of their impotence until it’s too late.  It’s a subtle, crafty tactic for sure but highly effective.  I wrote in an earlier post about The Deadly Duo of pride and insecurity.  Today I’d like to expose a few more of these nasties.  I call them the Toxic Trio.

Self Preservation – The enemy of vision.  When times seem lean, the temptation is to program to keep people comfortable and coming back.  Instead of taking risks, and dreaming big, we filter our decisions to keep the money happy. Afraid of losing people (and finances and favor), we start thinking inward instead of reaching outward.  This is downright deadly because we forfeit the future when we stop having faith.

Routine – The enemy of innovation.  Don’t get me wrong.  Some routine is good.  The problem arises when we elevate our routine to a place that robs us of opportunity.  For example, we skip a great training opportunity because it falls on sermon prep day or during the time when we normally do hospital visitation.

We also have a tendency to lather, rinse, and repeat our programming long past the expiration date.  Listen to those around you when they start suggesting new ideas.  It usually means your program is losing it’s impact, even if it is still fun for you to do.

Control – The enemy of empowering leadership.  This one is huge and really deserves its own post.  We really like to be in control and some leaders like to make sure everyone knows they’re in control.  They ignore suggestions, hold on to roles they should have let go of a long time ago, and obsess over certain tasks for fear they won’t get done right.

Controlling leaders may get what they want, but before long they’re getting it alone.  This demoralizing style of leadership usually drives away a lot of quality team members.

Have you ever seen yourself tackling one of these toxic traits?  I know I have, many times.  What’s a leader to do?  Well, rather than giving you the old 1, 2, 3 bullet points, I just have one word for you, “TRUST“.

It’s important that we learn to trust God when times are tough.  Keep dreaming, don’t sink inward.  Believe that where God guides, He provides.  Trust that He’ll help to redeem the time when we step out of the routine to grow and try new things.  You were made to grow, not simply maintain.  Trust your team to do their best when they take a project.  If God put you together, He really did know what He was doing.  Trusting those serving with you empowers them and helps them to grow.  That’s worth the risk of a job not getting done right any day!

Just trust!

“those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.” – Psalm 34:10b

In our culture, it’s so easy to become caught up in the game of appearances.  What does my car say about me?  What about my house?  Am I perceived as successful?  Smart?  Or do people see me as needy?  Do I look like I’ve made some bad decisions along the way or am I a success story in the eyes of my community?  What about my clothes?  Do they reflect my social status (or make me look even better?)

Funny how we care so much about our social standing.  We love the preferred treatment.  It’s nice to be able to go straight to the front of the line, sit in the green room, be recognized, be served.  There’s a pecking order, and we like to be at the front of it.

It’s not hard to tell who’s at the front of the pecking order either.  Celebrities receive special treatment and are often treated to complimentary you name it.  The CEO gets the best parking spot, and the good-looking get the benefit of the doubt.  They are the greatest in our culture, the kings and queens of western society and we play along as we work extra hours, bend the truth to sell more and motivate ourselves with GQ and Car and Driver.

Then there’s Jesus.  Wham!  The King of Kings, the famous one.  The most influential man to ever walk the planet (after He created it).  He comes along and declares a new system.  In Luke 9:48 he says, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

That’s it!  We have a new standard for greatness!  The least are now great.  The poor are deserving of attention.  The needy are to be honored and the sick are to be loved.  What more needs to be said?  We now have the tremendous privilege of serving those whom Jesus stuck with, stood up for, and identified with.

When you see Jesus begging today, give Him something.  When you see Him in Africa, Asia, and India honor Him.  When you see him sick with AIDS or living on the street, welcome Him.  He’s The Greatest.

*I originally posted this on the Worldhope.us blog.  A great organization helping those in extreme poverty.  Check them them out at www.worldhope.us.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

“Discipline is freedom.” Wrap your brain around that! I read through Foster’s book with an equal amount of conviction and excitement about a disciplined life. I’ve always considered myself a relatively disciplined person (at least in a few areas) but I know I could use an adjustment here and there. I learned a long time ago that praying for God to help me be disciplined was crazy talk like praying for longer hair or bigger muscles. Discipline is a choice and a daily decision. It’s not just going to come over you by supernatural influence.

The thing I’ve found though, is that it really DOES bring freedom! I meet with people all the time that are struggling. They struggle with their commitment to Christ, they struggle with their weight, they struggle with their marriage, they struggle with… everything! It astounds me how many times the answer just comes back to discipline. To the struggling believer, I ask, “How’s your prayer life?” The answer is usually a long list of activities that are taking priority over prayer. I see friends struggling with their weight that just can’t seem to establish a discipline of exercise and restraint, pastors with declining churches that won’t discipline themselves to read, grow, and learn a better way, and families falling apart that fail to discipline themselves to say no to all the things that compete for their time together.

I know that’s a pretty general approach to many of the problems that we face. My intention is not to come off as insensitive and all “Drill Sargent-y”. But isn’t it much easier to wish than it is to take practical steps to do? I turned my life over to Christ 25 years ago. I’ve seen many wonderful people turn away from the faith during that time, and I have the pleasure of worshiping alongside others who were with me when I made the most important decision ever. When I look at the lives of those who fell away, gave up the fight, and abandoned their relationship with God, I find only one common thread, only one difference between them and those who are still serving Him today, and it’s a lack of discipline to seek God. That’s it! We all had similar problems, obstacles, and issues. It’s just that the disciplined ones stayed. Hence the old saying, “He who prays stays, and he who fasts lasts“.

There’s an old man in his 90s that I know from the YMCA. His name is Ernie. He swims six days a week! Because of his discipline, he has energy, he’s strong, mobile, and sharp as can be. He didn’t start swimming when he turned 90. He’s been doing it for decades, and now he experiences a great deal of freedom for a man his age. Many men, younger than him, come into the gym feeble, sickly, and tired because they they spent so many years without discipline and now they’re there under doctor’s orders. I don’t know about you, but I want to be like Ernie!

Being disciplined helps you to last. It brings freedom from bondage. It conditions you to serve better. It creates a condition in you that allows God to transform you!

If you don’t believe me, give it a try. Pick a discipline, like prayer or reading, and stick to it every day for six weeks.  You WILL notice a difference!  Your desires change.  You start to long for the good stuff.  Your capacity for achievement increases because you’re growing and expanding.  Your mind even starts to sharpen because you’re forcing yourself to develop new habits (a side effect to counter-intuitiveness).

I believe so strongly in the power of discipline that, if it doesn’t help you, I’ll refund the money I charged you for reading this blog

One last thing.  If you do decide to give it a try, think about posting your benefits on this blog.  You never know who you’ll encourage!