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Miranda
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1 year ago
in Called to Ministry? on BetterThanBlank
I think it's a constant struggle - dare I say "balancing act"? When I said that our first calling is to follow HIM, I wasn't disallowing the need to minister to ourselves. I've been through a very rough time for the past several years, and God took me "off-line" for a good portion of it. If I hadn't had that time to heal, re-think things, rest (spiritually, physically, mentally), I don't know how (or if) I would have made it. What I'm finding is that, as I learn to hear His voice and follow Him ("I do only what I see the Father doing"), I am starting to live again, minister again, function - really well! - again.
There absolutely had to be time for self-ministry. I'm sure people thought too much time was taken with it. When I thought about that, I felt pressured to "get back to it"; but when I rested in Him, I knew that I was being totally remade from the inside out and that would take some time. When I finally started to come alive again, it was glorious, but I HAD to have had that protracted time, letting him have me "all to himself" first. Self-ministry. Allowing myself to be ministered to by Him, rediscovering what boundaries needed to be in my life in order to serve Him effectively, what I can and cannot do. (side note - one of the things that's tricky about being gifted by God in any way, is that we want to take on things that we can "do" and become totally overloaded in the process. One of my new mantras - if such a word is allowed here - is "I can't do everything I can do." Does that make sense?)
Any way, I'm sorry I wasn't clear in what I was saying. Yes, we must take time to minister to ourselves. And that goes beyond just spending time with the Lord. It could mean taking some R&R to spend with the family, or just by your self. It could mean getting together with friends, or just taking a nap! Whatever.
I just don't feel it's always "safe" to assume that the priority of getting to know Jesus is the top priority. It gets lost in the shuffle too many times.
As far as "balance" goes ... I'm really wrestling with that. Look at David and Moses. Great leaders, but lousy dads. Was that OK with God? I don't see how it could be, and yet ... the Bible focuses on what they DID and only a little attention is given to their failure as fathers. Also, trying to digest things like Catherine Booth's "Aggressive Christianity", Paris Reidhead's "Basis for Missions", and other such material has my head spinning. Is a balanced life just a Western thing, or is it a God thing? I don't really presume to know the answer to that, even though it may have seemed so in my first post. I get my brain tied up in a knot sometimes trying to figure it out.
Then, I go take a nap!
There absolutely had to be time for self-ministry. I'm sure people thought too much time was taken with it. When I thought about that, I felt pressured to "get back to it"; but when I rested in Him, I knew that I was being totally remade from the inside out and that would take some time. When I finally started to come alive again, it was glorious, but I HAD to have had that protracted time, letting him have me "all to himself" first. Self-ministry. Allowing myself to be ministered to by Him, rediscovering what boundaries needed to be in my life in order to serve Him effectively, what I can and cannot do. (side note - one of the things that's tricky about being gifted by God in any way, is that we want to take on things that we can "do" and become totally overloaded in the process. One of my new mantras - if such a word is allowed here - is "I can't do everything I can do." Does that make sense?)
Any way, I'm sorry I wasn't clear in what I was saying. Yes, we must take time to minister to ourselves. And that goes beyond just spending time with the Lord. It could mean taking some R&R to spend with the family, or just by your self. It could mean getting together with friends, or just taking a nap! Whatever.
I just don't feel it's always "safe" to assume that the priority of getting to know Jesus is the top priority. It gets lost in the shuffle too many times.
As far as "balance" goes ... I'm really wrestling with that. Look at David and Moses. Great leaders, but lousy dads. Was that OK with God? I don't see how it could be, and yet ... the Bible focuses on what they DID and only a little attention is given to their failure as fathers. Also, trying to digest things like Catherine Booth's "Aggressive Christianity", Paris Reidhead's "Basis for Missions", and other such material has my head spinning. Is a balanced life just a Western thing, or is it a God thing? I don't really presume to know the answer to that, even though it may have seemed so in my first post. I get my brain tied up in a knot sometimes trying to figure it out.
Then, I go take a nap!
1 year ago
in Called to Ministry? on BetterThanBlank
This is weird. I "happened upon" your blog because I was looking for information regarding "blackberry vs. treo" as I'm going to be needing a new ... one-or-the-other pretty soon. One of the first articles I came across was on FredMcKinnon.com, and before I knew it, I was here!
Your title caught my eye, because it's been a topic of conversation around here, too (Omaha, Nebraska, USA - small world, huh?). What we're coming to is close to where you (Alex) ended up, but I would differ with you at one point. That is what our first calling is.
I believe our first calling is not to minister to ourselves. It is to "Follow Me". It is to nurture our relationship to HIM, to pursue intimacy with HIM, to seek His face and listen to His voice. It is easy to say, "Well, yes, of course, that's a given," but the fact is, it's NOT a given - especially when you look at the pace at which life is going - and will whisk us completely away if we let it. No, it can't be a given, it must be a purposeful, highly prized priority.
When that first piece is firmly in place, the rest is easier to settle out. It doesn't just automatically "fit together", but if we can learn to hear His voice in our ear saying, "This is the way; walk ye in it," we are much more likely to lead some semblance of a ... I wanted to say "balanced" life, but I don't know if that's God's plan either. Jesus' life, Paul's life, Moses' or David's life ... not exactly "balanced". I guess the key is seeking to live the life that HE has planned for us to live - whatever that looks like.
"Whatever that looks like" for me may be totally different from what it looks like to you. That's why we have to be able to hear God's voice for ourselves and give others grace to hear what God is saying to them.
It would be so much easier if God just gave us all a flow-chart...
Your title caught my eye, because it's been a topic of conversation around here, too (Omaha, Nebraska, USA - small world, huh?). What we're coming to is close to where you (Alex) ended up, but I would differ with you at one point. That is what our first calling is.
I believe our first calling is not to minister to ourselves. It is to "Follow Me". It is to nurture our relationship to HIM, to pursue intimacy with HIM, to seek His face and listen to His voice. It is easy to say, "Well, yes, of course, that's a given," but the fact is, it's NOT a given - especially when you look at the pace at which life is going - and will whisk us completely away if we let it. No, it can't be a given, it must be a purposeful, highly prized priority.
When that first piece is firmly in place, the rest is easier to settle out. It doesn't just automatically "fit together", but if we can learn to hear His voice in our ear saying, "This is the way; walk ye in it," we are much more likely to lead some semblance of a ... I wanted to say "balanced" life, but I don't know if that's God's plan either. Jesus' life, Paul's life, Moses' or David's life ... not exactly "balanced". I guess the key is seeking to live the life that HE has planned for us to live - whatever that looks like.
"Whatever that looks like" for me may be totally different from what it looks like to you. That's why we have to be able to hear God's voice for ourselves and give others grace to hear what God is saying to them.
It would be so much easier if God just gave us all a flow-chart...
