Glory be to God! Hallelujah!
God is faithful to His Word. And when we are faithful to His Word, supernatural things can happen.
That is why I want to begin with something simple: stay with the Word of God.
When I am in my prayer closet (a private place or time set apart for prayer), one of the things I continually ask God for is what I call holy utterance (words that are given and guided by God). I don’t want to simply give people my theology (our understanding of God and Christian teaching), theories, or personal opinions. I want to speak what God has given me to speak.
That doesn’t mean I will never discuss an idea or share an observation. But when I am teaching the Word of God, my foundation needs to be Scripture.
There are many ancient religious writings outside of the Bible. These are often called extra-biblical writings (religious writings that exist outside the books recognized as Scripture).
Some of these writings may contain interesting historical information. Some may even provide background about the world in which biblical people lived.
But when I stand up to teach the Word of God, I want to stay with the canon of Scripture (the collection of books recognized by the Christian church as the Bible).
There is a reason the Bible has a defined collection of books. So, while other writings may be interesting to study, they should not be placed on the same level as Scripture.
The Word of God needs to remain our foundation.
I say that as someone who has made plenty of mistakes.
I’ve stood in a chapel or in a friend’s church and started out with a good message. Then somehow I wandered off into politics, religious politics, or one of my personal pet peeves.
And at some point, I could sense that I was no longer where I needed to be.
I would think, “Oh, no. Lord, forgive me. Have mercy on me.”
I’ve made mistakes like that going all the way back to my teenage years.
Sometimes I think about things I said years ago and I’m embarrassed. I am grateful that some of those old recordings may be lost forever!
But those experiences taught me something important:
We need to be trained.
If God has given you a training pulpit (a place where people are taught and prepared for ministry), then you should be training other people.
I believe every pastor should be raising up other leaders.
That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone needs to go to Bible school.
If someone is called to operate in the ministry of a prophet (someone who delivers a message they believe God has given them), they may need to spend time learning from a mature and trustworthy prophetic minister.
If someone is called to be an evangelist (someone whose ministry focuses especially on proclaiming the gospel to people who do not yet follow Christ), they may need to learn from someone who has experience reaching people outside the church.
If someone is gifted musically and called to serve as a psalmist (someone who ministers through worship and spiritually focused music), they may need to learn from someone with experience in that particular area.
But none of this automatically means they have to abandon the church family that helped them grow.
Sometimes God begins moving a person into a new season of ministry.
They may have been part of a church for ten, twenty, or thirty years. Then God begins opening another door.
That doesn’t mean they have to leave with anger.
It doesn’t mean there needs to be a dramatic separation.
It doesn’t mean the relationship has to become bitter.
Even if someone eventually starts another church, they can still honor the people who helped them get there.
They may not be around as much as they once were, but they can still remain connected.
I believe that is a healthy way for ministry to develop.
Unfortunately, we sometimes see the opposite in the body of Christ (the worldwide community of people who follow Jesus).
People break relationships. They stop talking to one another. Words are spoken in anger. Bridges are burned.
Sometimes the senior leader is immature.
Sometimes the younger leader is immature.
Sometimes both are.
A pastor might say, “I’m not sure how I feel about this person going out and doing this.”
But the bigger question is:
What does the Holy Spirit want?
We have to be careful about trying to control another person’s calling.
If someone is not ready, they will eventually discover that.
God knows how to deal with His children.
And if someone is genuinely called by God, they don’t need manipulation or human control to make God’s purpose happen.
There are times when a person may step into something before they are prepared.
They may have enthusiasm.
They may have talent.
They may even have a great speaking ability.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean they are ready for the assignment.
Sometimes what is missing is the anointing (God’s empowering presence and ability for a particular work).
A person can step out over what seems like an empty space, expecting something to appear underneath their feet.
Eventually, reality catches up with them.
But when someone fails, the answer shouldn’t be rejection.
We shouldn’t treat them as persona non grata (a person who is no longer welcome).
We should leave the door open.
Be like Grandma and Grandpa:
“We’ll leave the light on for you. No matter how late you come home, we’re here for you. We love you.”
You can believe someone is making a mistake and still love them.
Sometimes a person is simply running ahead of God’s timing.
They may need to come back, grow, learn, and prepare for a few more years.
That doesn’t mean their calling is over.
It may mean they aren’t ready yet.
God’s timing is often connected to our preparation.
And preparation is really about conditioning.
Think about the military.
People sometimes say, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”
But if someone was a Marine forty years ago, that doesn’t automatically mean they are physically prepared to go on today’s mission.
They may have been in excellent physical condition years ago.
But today may be different.
Ministry is similar.
It isn’t simply about what you did twenty years ago.
It is about whether you are fit and functional for what God is asking you to do now.
A person may have once been an excellent preacher, pastor, worship leader, or evangelist.
That doesn’t mean they can simply stop growing.
We need to remain in the Word.
We need to remain in prayer.
We need to remain humble.
We need to continue developing our character and our ability to serve.
An able minister (someone prepared and capable of faithfully serving others with God’s Word) must continue to grow.
You can fake it for a while.
There are professional public speakers who know how to organize an event, build a message, dress appropriately, connect with a particular audience, and communicate extremely well.
I’m not saying that these people are necessarily teaching heresy (teaching that seriously contradicts essential Christian beliefs).
Some may be excellent speakers.
But being good at something and being called by God to do something are not necessarily the same thing.
If God hasn’t called you to an assignment, eventually you may find yourself operating entirely on your own strength.
And sooner or later, your own strength will run out.
I’ve seen people who were active in ministry years ago and then disappeared.
Someone will ask, “Whatever happened to that preacher from the 1990s?”
“Did they die?”
“No. They’re just not doing ministry anymore.”
Sometimes people become exhausted.
Sometimes they burn out.
And sometimes God genuinely moves someone into a different assignment.
I know of a man who pastored for many years. Eventually, God sent him out on the road.
Pastoring was not ultimately his highest calling.
But during that season, there wasn’t really anyone else available to pastor him at the level where he was growing.
So those years became a training ground.
Then the Lord gave him the unction (a strong inner prompting or leading that a person believes comes from God) to go on the road.
Those years of pastoring weren’t wasted.
They were preparation.
At one point, the Lord spoke to this man and told him he was entering the first phase of his ministry.
He responded, essentially:
“What? I’ve already been doing this for twelve or fifteen years!”
But the answer was:
“No. You’re just getting started.”
That sounds strange until you understand something:
God is not measuring ministry only by the number of years you’ve been doing something.
He is looking at preparation.
He is looking at character.
He is looking at maturity.
He is looking at whether you are ready to carry what He wants to put into your hands.
Ministry should never become a matter of entitlement.
We should never think:
“I’ve been doing this for ten years, so God owes me a position.”
Or:
“I’ve served this church for twenty years, so the church owes me a title.”
No.
Years of service matter, but years alone don’t make someone ready.
Your condition matters.
Are you growing?
Are you teachable?
Is your character developing?
Do you understand what you’re doing?
Do you have the skills required for the assignment?
Can you carry the responsibility without destroying yourself or hurting other people?
These are important questions.
This is one reason I am strongly opposed to negative nepotism (giving someone a position mainly because of family relationships or favoritism instead of because they are prepared).
The problem comes when someone is promoted above their level of character, understanding, or skill.
Then somebody underneath them has to compensate.
Someone else ends up doing the actual work.
Someone else has to fix the mistakes.
Someone else has to keep putting out the fires.
It’s like putting “Cousin Pookie” in charge simply because he’s family, while the person underneath him is actually qualified to do the job.
That isn’t healthy leadership.
God is not impressed by titles.
He is concerned with truth, justice, character, and faithfulness.
The Bible repeatedly uses the picture of a just scale (an honest and accurate measurement) to teach us about fairness.
God cares about honest measurements.
That principle applies to leadership too.
We should not pretend someone is qualified when they aren’t.
We should not place someone into a position simply because they are connected to the right people.
And we should not hold back someone who is prepared simply because someone else has the right family name or connections.
People should be developed according to their character, preparation, understanding, and ability to faithfully carry responsibility.
At the end of the day, this isn’t about titles.
It isn’t about positions.
It isn’t about how long you’ve been doing something.
It is about faithfulness.
God is faithful to His Word.
Our responsibility is to remain faithful to Him, continue growing, stay humble, and allow Him to prepare us for whatever assignment He has given us.
Don’t run ahead of God.
Don’t allow pride to tell you that you deserve something simply because you’ve been around for a long time.
Don’t allow disappointment to convince you that your preparation was wasted.
And don’t burn bridges with the people who helped you along the way.
Sometimes the season you’re in isn’t the final assignment.
Sometimes it is the training ground for what comes next.
So remain faithful.
Keep growing.
Stay in the Word.
Stay in prayer.
Let God develop your character.
And when He opens the door, make sure you are ready to walk through it.
Peace and love, as you work out your own salvation (actively living out your faith and allowing God to shape your life) in Jesus’ holy name.
Amen.