Volunteer

I have the privilege of working with some great volunteers.  Today one of them can't do there role because silly enough, they have to do their day job.  Honestly the gall of some people.  Trying to make a living...  Anyway I am getting to see how much they mean to me and how much they do because of the vacum they leave.  This is scary I depend on this person every week to help mtake our ministry to the next level.  In that dependance I give up something.  Control.  By giving up control of his area of expertise.  I have to trust that it will be done right and with excellence.  At first it was a little ruff sometimes.  But now he routinely exceeds my expectations and does things better than I ever could.  A few things made this possible.

1.  I was desperate for help.  I'll admit it.  (This is when I should act spiritual and say I was continuously praying for the right volunteer)  In reality, I was way over my head and just trying to survive the weekly grind of ministry.  He came along to help and I was more than happy to give him things to do just so I could catch my breath.  I believe God saw my need and filled it.  And yes prayer was involved!

2.  I was willing to give things away.  I gave graphics away.  So much so that I hardly use Photoshop anymore.  I used to use it at least 8 hours a week.  Now its isn't even on my desktop.

3.  I want my volunteers to be better than me.  I want them to do things better than I can.  If they do, it builds the Kingdom and it makes me look like a genius :)

What just happened

What just happened?" Was it amazing, terrible, great, life-changing or just dumb?

The ability to take what we experience and put it through a filter to produce a better product, service, or whatever you do is incredibly important.  Aren't there those times when you look around and think well that happened.  But do you want a repeat? "This" happened last week and nobody changed anything, so it's going to happen again this week.  "This" can be either great or terrible, depending on what the "thing" was.  

Bottom line is this.  When asking the question, "What just happened?" ask yourself some questions.  Do I want that to repeat?  Is it in my power to change or capitalize on?  Don't waste a "what just happened" moment.  If it is either positive or negative you can get something out of it.

Sending

The fall for me is usually one of the most exciting times for me.  Its a natural momentum bulder.  I have the opportunity to meet new students and start great relationships.  I look forward to this time every year.  This year had been different.  While I am still incredibly excited about what God is doing here.  Part of my heart is somewhere else.  I had a class of 24 seniors this year and 12 of them went on to study for ministry or straight into missions.  That's amazing! Watching God use these students has been a privilege.    The only problem is you look around and see that they actually are not here anymore!

I always thought that I should be a sender, that the ministry is at its best when sending is occurring. My expectation was that this would be a joyful experience, in reality it is hard.  Your saying goodbye to the people you have invested the most into.  Im incredibly proud of them.  They carry on a mission and a calling that God has given them and take my part of me with them.  

The hard part about leading is there is no end point, it doesn't stop, or take a break.  There is no banner at the end that says, "Great Job now go check Facebook."  Nope, instead the Banner says, "Great Job now get back to work!"

There is a new generation ready in the wings to be equipped.  They require the same detail and attention that the last generation needed.

So who have you sent out lately?  Who have you been equipping?  How have you reacted to the sending?  Have you gotten back up from the loss?  Has it energized you or drained you?  What's your plan for getting back up?  Go send them, they will change the world and by so make your ministry so much more beautiful.  It may hurt, It may sting, It may just change everything.