Here and Now

[corinthpastorbob]

This meditation seems to me to take a surprising twist, which is one reason I like this book. I want to be stretched to think differently about ministry, to challenge my own blind spots.

Tim Laniak gives some helpful background on that Moses story, and reminds me that once I've seen God do something unusual, my tendency is to try to duplicate it - by whatever means necessary. Where the first situation may have been a providential response to desperation, prayer, reflection, and waiting, the second becomes a quick fix and a manipulation.

This can happen in the less-than-spectacular areas of ministry. Not only do I fight the temptation to copy others, I fight the temptation to copy myself. I found when I came to my current church, I was trying to duplicate "what worked" in another church. For example, separating designated missionary giving from the general budget was very effective in my last congregation. It was a disaster where I am now.

So the point is seeking the Lord's provision not direction for every leadership situation, resisting the temptation to insist he does here and now what he did then and there.