{"id":1588,"date":"2015-02-11T17:38:27","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T00:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/?p=1588"},"modified":"2015-02-11T17:51:05","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T00:51:05","slug":"leaning-on-the-master-in-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/?p=1588","title":{"rendered":"Leaning On The Master In Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Learning<\/a><\/p>\n

Have\u00a0you ever thought\u00a0that leading in ministry is too hard, maybe even an impossible task? \u00a0If so, keep reading.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite stories in the gospel is when Jesus and\u00a0his disciples are in\u00a0a boat on the Sea of Galilee during a furious squall (Mark. 4:35-41). \u00a0The storm was\u00a0so\u00a0ferocious\u00a0that the disciples, many who had spent a good deal of time on the water making\u00a0a living, were terrified. \u00a0They all thought\u00a0that they were\u00a0facing certain death. \u00a0So when the water\u00a0started swamping their boat, by instinct they all grabbed a bucket and started\u00a0bailing. \u00a0All but one of them was at work trying to save the ship. \u00a0Jesus was instead curiously asleep in the stern during this furious\u00a0storm – resting peacefully on cushion no less!<\/p>\n

What has always fascinated me about this story isn’t how\u00a0Jesus could have been\u00a0resting peacefully during a terrible storm, but rather how the disciples roused Jesus into action on their behalf. \u00a0They woke Jesus up by calling into question his love for them. \u00a0In Mark 4:38, they\u00a0accuse, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”<\/p>\n

For those who are pastors and ministry leaders, our work can feel a whole lot like riding in a small boat during a furious squall only to have Jesus asleep in the stern. \u00a0When the storms of life\u00a0come, we naturally jump into action like the disciples in order to save the ship. \u00a0When a couple faces divorce, we get busy helping to save their marriage. \u00a0When teenagers lose their way, we get busy helping them find\u00a0their way again. \u00a0When our congregation becomes lackluster in their pursuit of Christ, we get busy preaching and teaching trying to get their attention on Jesus again. \u00a0When the finances are reading more red than black, we get busy raising\u00a0the support needed to stay in ministry. \u00a0When our\u00a0staff are in conflict, we get busy leading conversations toward reconciliation. \u00a0When relationships grow cold in our community, we get busy trying to create programs that connect\u00a0people to one another again. \u00a0But if our efforts in bailing out people in ministry are not yielding the results we hoped for (couples split, teenagers leave the church, congregations don’t listen, finances dry up, staff fight\u00a0with each other, friendships\u00a0grow cold), we can easily find ourselves disgruntled against Jesus who appears to be asleep in our ministry. \u00a0And just like the disciples in the boat that day, we are just as prone to\u00a0accuse Jesus, “Don’t you care that we are about to drown?”<\/p>\n

But notice what Jesus did\u00a0when the disciples woke\u00a0him. \u00a0He rebuked<\/em> the wind and the waves, and the sea became dead calm. Then he rebuked<\/em> the disciples. \u00a0He censured\u00a0them in 4:30, “Why are you so afraid? \u00a0Do you still have no faith?” \u00a0You see when the disciples\u00a0saw the storm, they got busy working to counter their circumstances. \u00a0Instead, the first thing they should have done was\u00a0come to Jesus\u00a0with the problem they faced because Jesus’ work is always more important than our work. \u00a0Jesus wasn’t asleep on the boat because he didn’t care<\/em> about them. \u00a0Jesus was asleep on the boat because his disciples didn’t yet\u00a0need<\/em> him.<\/p>\n

If you are a leader in ministry, it is always tempting to bypass Jesus and get busy working to bail people out when the storms of life hit. \u00a0But listen to Jesus’ rebuke\u00a0to his friends who started\u00a0bailing before bowing to\u00a0Jesus. \u00a0Your work is never as important as Jesus’ work. \u00a0Therefore, we need to lean on the Master in our Ministry. \u00a0Instead of rushing to\u00a0work\u00a0hard at\u00a0bailing people out of their tough circumstances, we first need to come to Jesus and ask some spiritually forming questions that are informed by the truth that Jesus’ work is always more important than our work. \u00a0We need to ask Jesus:<\/p>\n