{"id":1988,"date":"2015-09-09T15:06:06","date_gmt":"2015-09-09T21:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/?p=1988"},"modified":"2015-09-09T19:34:16","modified_gmt":"2015-09-10T01:34:16","slug":"the-most-important-word-in-ministry-and-how-it-can-expand-our-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/?p=1988","title":{"rendered":"The Most Important Word In Ministry (and how it can expand your ministry)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

I\u2019ve been writing a series on using the word, \u201cno,\u201d because it is the most important word in ministry.\u00a0 If you are just joining the conversation, you can catch up here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today, I want to assert that using the word, \u201cno,\u201d can actually expand your ministry.\u00a0 When you say, \u201cyes,\u201d all the time you are shrinking your ministry.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here\u2019s what you communicate by saying, \u201cyes,\u201d to\u00a0Being the Solution to every crisis presented to you: \u201cI don\u2019t trust that others\u00a0have what it takes to solve the crisis they\u00a0are in.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Though this message is unintentional, it communicates loud and clear to those who come to you for help, and it serves to\u00a0shrink our ministry and influence.<\/p>\n

For example, when my kids are having an argument, it\u2019s a crisis.\u00a0 They are desperate to solve the issue.\u00a0 So they bring it to me and ask me to make a decision for them (the one who brings it to me first hopes I will rule in their favor).\u00a0 Yet, I have learned to resist solving their disputes for them.\u00a0 It is difficult, but I try to resist being the one who comes up with the solution for them.\u00a0 The reason is that if I jump in to solve every crisis that they face, they will never know that they have what it takes to be peace makers who can reveal God\u2019s mercy in times of trouble.\u00a0 When I say, \u201cno,\u201d to solving their crisis, I am actually expanding my influence.\u00a0 I am helping my children grow.\u00a0 The same thing occurs when we say, \u201cno,\u201d to solving every person\u2019s problem in ministry.\u00a0 The message that we send is this: \u201cYou have what it takes to be peace makers who can reveal God\u2019s mercy in times of trouble.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s a powerful message, and people will hear it when you say, \u201cno,\u201d to solving their problems for them.<\/p>\n

Here’s what you communicate When you\u00a0say, \u201cyes,\u201d to every opportunity given to you: \u201cI don\u2019t trust that others have what it takes to encourage others like I can.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This unintentional message is incredibly disempowering, and it creates a culture where you alone are the expert.\u00a0 No one else can do it as good as you can, so people follow your lead.\u00a0 They chose not to exercise their gifts because they believe the message that they are not good enough to encourage others.<\/p>\n

For example, many pastors feel\u00a0the pressure to preach every Sunday.\u00a0 When I was the lead pastor for a local church, I felt it was my duty and responsibility to the congregation to preach each week.\u00a0 This was not only wearing me out, but it was also communicating to the congregation that I didn\u2019t trust others to preach the word.\u00a0 In order to counteract that message, I learned to develop\u00a0a preaching\u00a0team who could express the gift God had given them to preach the word.\u00a0 Not only was it really freeing for me personally, but it expanded my ministry.\u00a0 When I said, \u201cno,\u201d to preaching every Sunday, I was telling my team that I trusted them.\u00a0 I was communicating that I believed they had\u00a0what it takes to encourage the congregation with their gifts and insight.\u00a0 Saying, \u201cno,\u201d actually expanded my ministry because others got more involved and engaged in the overall ministry.<\/p>\n

Saying, “yes,” to being the solution for every problem and the “go to” person for every ministry opportunity shrinks your ministry. \u00a0It shrinks your ministry because you are unintentionally communicating a message of distrust toward others.<\/p>\n

Jesus communicated trust\u00a0by saying, “no,” to being the only one who could do ministry.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Instead of being a solo preacher, Jesus entrusted his twelve disciples to communicate the message he was bringing to free us from our slavery to sin. \u00a0Luke records how Jesus expanded his ministry by using the most important word in ministry in Luke\u00a09.<\/p>\n

Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.\u00a0 3 He told them: \u201cTake nothing for the journey\u2014no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.\u201d 6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how we can expand our ministry by learning how Jesus used the most important word in ministry:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. By using the word, \u201cno,\u201d Jesus EMPOWERED<\/b> his disciples.\u00a0 The disciples watched Jesus in ministry for a while, but then he sent them out.\u00a0 Jesus gave them his power and authority to do ministry on their own.\u00a0 If we are going to use the word, \u201cno,\u201d in a way that expands our ministry, we have to give our power and authority away.\u00a0 We have to be willing to allow others to call the shots, get the credit, and lead important ministries.\u00a0 When we do, we will expand our ministry by empowering others for God\u2019s service in it.<\/li>\n
  2. By using the word, \u201cno,\u201d Jesus EQUIPPED<\/b> his disciples.\u00a0 He told them not to lean on any earthly resource for success in their ministry.\u00a0 They were to take nothing with them to help them.\u00a0 They were to trust that God was going to use their story of faith to engender faith in the lives of others.\u00a0 Too many people in our communities fail to engage ministry because they feel like they aren\u2019t equipped.\u00a0 They feel like they don\u2019t have enough knowledge or experience to engage in ministry.\u00a0 Yet, when we equip them by telling them their faith in Jesus is the primary thing they need to step out into ministry, we are equipping people to trust in Jesus in a way that will stretch them.\u00a0 We are sending them the message that they are valuable in ministry and they have what it takes.\u00a0 Their faith is the primary thing they need to serve God well.\u00a0 When we focus our volunteers on their faith as the primary resource for ministry, we will expand our ministry by equipping people for God\u2019s service.<\/li>\n
  3. By using the word, \u201cno,\u201d Jesus ENLIGHTENED<\/b> his disciples.\u00a0 He told them that just because they go out in faith doesn\u2019t mean they will always see success.\u00a0 Yet he tells them what to do when they encounter difficulty and failure.\u00a0 He simply says, \u201cMove on.\u201d\u00a0 Don\u2019t let someone else\u2019s rejection of you stop your work.\u00a0 Many people fear failure.\u00a0 It is a huge barrier to trying new things (especially trying their hand at leading a ministry).\u00a0 However, we can expand our ministry by setting the expectation for people in ministry.\u00a0 We can enlighten them about what to do when<\/i> they encounter failure, not if<\/i> they encounter it. \u00a0When we encourage people to keep moving forward in faith, we communicate a positive message to them.\u00a0 We communicate to them that\u00a0they have what it takes to be useful in ministry despite the failures they may encounter.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, if you learn to say, \u201cno,\u201d in ministry, you are really learning to expand your ministry.<\/p>\n

    What ways have you been able to expand your ministry by saying, \u201cno?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I\u2019ve been writing a series on using the word, \u201cno,\u201d because it is the most important word in ministry.\u00a0 If you are just joining the conversation, you can catch up here, here, and here. Today, I want to assert that using the word, \u201cno,\u201d can actually expand your ministry.\u00a0 When you say, \u201cyes,\u201d all the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theawakenministry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/The-Most-Important-Word-in-Ministry-Pt.-4.0011.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1988"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1999,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988\/revisions\/1999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}